


Para Bellum

by EvangelineRiver



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Capture the Flag, F/M, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Post-War, Riddikulus Fest 2019
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2020-10-12 00:37:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 43,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20555336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvangelineRiver/pseuds/EvangelineRiver
Summary: Hermione heads back to Hogwarts for her eighth year. Considering she no longer has the company of Harry and Ron, she assumes the year will be quiet, uneventful besides studying for her N.E.W.T exams, but it seems McGonagall has other ideas.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written for the 2019 Riddikulus fest but I apparently am incapable of writing a simple one shot or meeting a deadline so here it is six months late!  
The prompt was "The Hogwarts houses play capture the flag" given by Orcl777. Many thanks for giving me the idea and taking me out of my comfort zone! I hope I came through on this. 
> 
> Like I said, it was meant to be a one shot but I have majority of the story written so it shouldn't take long to get the entire story up.
> 
> Thanks to MamaBear2629 for beta reading, any mistakes are my own though!

_ The presence of all eighth year students is required in my office at seven thirty pm this evening. Please bring your own parchment and quill. _

_ ~Headmistress McGonagall. _

** **

Well if those words didn’t make your stomach drop out your arse then Hermione didn’t know what would. Not that she could actually read the note any longer, her clammy fingerprints having seeped through the obsidian ink, leaving a trail of destruction across the crumpled parchment. 

Hermione desperately tried to swallow the lump in her throat. There could only be one reason why they would all be called into her office needing quill and parchment. This had something to do with their N.E.W.T exams… but then, surely the seventh years would be involved too? Unless they’re testing them separately. Hemrione had never considered herself a religious person before now, why would she when seeing the wonders and terrors of this world, but she would happily worship any deity she could think of for this not to be happening right now.

The only separate meeting they had received with the Headmistress was upon arrival, when given their class schedules (mixed with the seventh years) and told that because the eighth years were now classed as adults they would be granted later curfew, which of course Hermione was thrilled with. Now she could study in the library in blissful peace, a god send considering their exams are fast approaching. ‘_ Or perhaps starting now!’ _ They were also granted more Hogsmeade trips, which meant she had been able to see Harry and Ron during term time. Not that they had much free time themselves whilst in auror training, but they managed a couple of trips, which meant more to Hermione than she could express. It’s weird not having them here, although she had become closer to other Gryffindors this year, frequently seek out Neville and Dean’s company. Hermione’s dorm mate Fay Dunbar had also returned, and even Parvati had become easier to talk to since Lavender didn’t come back, and of course there's the firecracker that is Ginny Weasley. ** **

‘_ Couldn’t escape her if I tried.’ _

Things had become much simpler. Easy, almost. This was how it was meant to be- not assisting a supposed mass murderer on the run, being hunted and petrified by literally one of the most terrifying creatures to ever exist, or helping to save her best friend from a self entitled, elitist, slit nosed mad man. Not that there was anything remotely human about Voldemort, ‘fiend’ was probably a more suitable term.

Hermione missed Harry and Ron, truly she did, but day to day life has become _ so _ much easier without them at school. Now all she had to concern herself with was her class schedule, oh- and let us not forget about Ginny’s gruelling exercise routine. A few mornings a week Hermione had somehow submitted herself to the sheer joy of burning lungs and wobbly limbs from the redhead’s various running routes around the castle grounds. Although the physical activity seemed punishing, there was something freeing about having a clear head. Every mind boggling rune, and ridiculously scrupulous homework project they had been set seemed to slip away with each ragged breath without a second thought.

That was before McGonagall decided to throw a Grawp sized spanner in the works and start testing them early.

_ ‘Damn it I should have known. Stupid. Stupid. STUPI-’ _

“Hermione?” 

She blinked a few times, noticing Dean standing in front of her. Concern etched across his face, although his lips quirked with amusement before taking her arm and guiding them to the rest of the group already seated. ‘_ When did they get here?’ _ Judging by the blank stares at the table, Hermione was not the only one baffled at being summoned here. 

“You’re starting to wear a hole in the carpet. I highly doubt the entire eighth year is in trouble, don’t panic.” ** **

Trouble? He seriously thinks that she would believe she _ of all people _ had done something wrong? Hermione stared at him incredulously. “What if it’s a surprise test?” She hissed, gaining a few head snaps their direction, worry flitting across their paling faces.

“Then honestly?” Dean snorts as they take their seats besides Neville, “you’re probably the only one here that isn’t screwed. Besides, I know McGonagall likes to crack the whip and throw us a shit ton of work, but even _ she _ can’t be that cruel.”

“Thank you for that rather astute observation, Mr Thomas.” A hush fell over the eighth years as the tight lipped Headmistress strode from her chambers to stand before her desk. Dean winced as he locked eyes with McGonagall’s piercing gaze, unable to hold it for long. 

Hermione was pleased to see that after taking the role of Headmistress, McGonagall seemed to have had a hard time steering away from her house pride. The circular office was much the same as when Dumbledore had occupied it; somewhat house neutral decor- except for the large circular table they now sat at, taking up the centre of the room. The chairs a deep crimson with gold filigree across the arms and legs, chairs which had Malfoy and Zabini’s eyes rolling as they took their seats across from her with their fellow Slytherins, looking for all the world as if this meeting was the greatest inconvenience to them all, no sign of internal panic Hermione currently felt. 

Once everyone had sat down McGonagall cleared her throat, finally taking her eyes off the wilting Gryffindor beside Hermione. 

“Thank you for joining me this evening. My apologies if my note was a bit vague, I want to ensure that what we discuss in this meeting will not be shared with the other students just yet. You see it has come to my attention that in past years, Hogwarts is perhaps lacking some _ excitement _ .” McGonagall gave a brief pause, taking a deep breath as if it physically pained her to reveal why they were here. “So this year I am proposing an event- _ after _your N.E.W.T’s of course, that every seventh and eighth year can take part in should they wish to. Something to look forward to before leaving the school forever, and perhaps an event we could potentially carry on as an annual tradition.”

“Leaving the school forever.” 

Hermione didn’t notice that every student at the table sat up straighter, a mixture of shock and excitement adorning their faces, as those words landed in her chest like a dead weight. Even after being on the run for a year and all that happened in this castle last March, she couldn’t help but feel eager and honoured to return to her studies. Hogwarts would always be her home, the thought of leaving for good… 

_ ‘No. Do not think about it, enjoy your time while you can.’ _

Dean had begun nudging her side, eyebrow quirked and sporting a huge grin. ‘_ Yes ok, he was right. Damn my paranoid mind!’ _Hermione released a long breath, returning her friend’s smile.

“What sort of event Professor?” McGonagall hesitates again, trying to mask her sceptical appearance.

“That’s where you come in Miss Greengrass, I want ideas from you all. You will vote for your favourites which I will then take to the other staff members and ultimately choose the winning idea.”

“So.. we can suggest _ anything _?” Dean sounded like Christmas had come early. It was hard now not to latch on to the excitement in the room.

“Yes Mr. Thomas, so long as it isn’t _dangerous_ _or inappropriate._” She gave the students a pointed stare. “We do _not_ need a repeat of your fourth year.” 

_ ‘Yes, let’s keep fire breathing dragons, Grindylows and a death trap maze out of this please _.’

It took all of two seconds for the table to erupt with chatter and ideas being thrown back and forth. Some, Hermione had to admit were intriguing. Like the panic room that challenges your practical and mental skills in order to escape. Or the timed scavenger hunt and team building obstacle course. Other ideas weren’t _ too _ awful, but the rest? Well.. she would rather be put in a pit with a blast ended skrewt. ‘ _ Sayonara! It’s been fun _ . _ ’ _

“What about a dance?” Parvati squeals. Her question sparking instant chatter from Susan, Hannah, and Sue. Even Neville’s eyes light up whilst the rest of the table collectively groans. 

“You seem to be forgetting that the event is supposed to be _ fun, _ Patil.” Theo drawls.

“Well what _ great _ suggestion do you have?” She retorts. The Slytherins up until this point had remained quiet. Seemingly happy to observe but call out the outlandish ideas. Not for the first time this evening Hermione found herself praying, praying that _ someone _ would come up with something better than either a ball, catch the Niffler- _ Merlin’s beard _ \- a wizarding version of dodgeball, (which brought back unwelcome memories of year six PE when Jamie Bradshaw had hit her square in the face, rendering her 10 year old self unconscious with a bloodied nose), football, or and Merlin save them all, the floor is lava… _ Hogwarts style _ . Suffice to say that idea was out faster than Tracy Davis could say _ ‘Are you fucking insane’ _.

A grin split across Theo’s face as Parvati crossed her arms, waiting. “Broom race!” 

_ ‘Oh gods help us all.’ _

“We make it a relay, throw in some obstacles, first house to get all their players through, wins!” To her utter horror, multiple students exclaimed their intrigue at his suggestion, including Dean. Hermione looked to her left and as suspected, Neville’s pallor somewhat reminiscent of a vampire with a serious case of the runs. She gave his arm a squeeze, it was no secret he hates flying, something Hermione could empathise with. 

“What kind of obstacles? OH! How about bludgers? And we have to fly through hoops for checkpoints! If you crash you’re out the game!” 

_ ‘Damn it Dean!’ _

Theo’s eyes lit up at the suggestion and Hermione had absolutely no remorse for slamming her heel down on Dean’s foot, glaring her best ‘_ are you out of your damn mind’ _ look, tilting her head in Neville’s direction for extra emphasis. 

“What?” He asked innocently, “It was just an idea..” He trails off with a defeated sigh, clearly Neville is sporting the same horrified expression, along with half the table. Rubbing her eyes with the palm of her hands, Hermione allowed herself a few steadying breaths. They needed another good idea fast or this is going to be a long night.

_ ‘Think, Hermione.’ _

“Something wrong, Granger?”

Her eyes snapped up to meet a _ grinning _ Malfoy. She really hadn’t been all that subtle in her distaste for brooms over the years. His silver eyes pin Hermione to her seat. _ ‘Damn myself to hell, I can’t help but drink them in.’ _ It unnerved the crap out of her that his hostility just somehow dissipated after the war. Hermione was not equipped to handle a relaxed, dare she say pleasant Draco. Even going so far as to crack jokes during class, and shooting grins that completely threw certain girl’s off kilter. But not Hermione. 

_ ‘Nope. No… never.’ _ But as the days went by where she rarely interacted with him, she found her eyes wandering, searching, betraying. 

‘_ So yes Malfoy, I’d say something is _ very _ wrong with this situation.’ _ He raises an eyebrow at her. How long had she been staring?

“We have Quidditch for those of you who are broom crazed lunatics! Why are you all so eager to bloody everyone up?” Malfoy’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline, although his insufferable smirk decides to make an appearance. Merlin, it could make even the most withered of ovaries explode. “Can we maybe come up with something that involves being on the ground? And _ no _ bludgers.” Relieved nods were shared between Hannah and the Patil twins. Neville released a long breath beside me, some colour coming back to his pasty cheeks. 

“Because you know you don’t stand a chance against us in the sky…” His gaze flitted to Neville for a second before fixing on her again. It wasn’t even a question, given where they currently stood in the Quidditch leader board- much to Ginny’s chagrin. 

_ ‘Ok I take it back, he’s still an arrogant prick.’ _

“We can fly just fine, thank you very much,'' Hermione did her best to ignore the smug disbelief on his face. “But surprisingly enough, we aren’t all hell bent on _ killing _ ourselves in the process. You heard Professor McGonagall, nothing dangerous!” Looking to her left to where McGonagall was observing the debate, she noticed the Professor’s looked tired, the choice of including the eighth years in this was evidently a regrettable decision already. 

“That is correct, Miss Granger.” She confirms. ‘_ Suck it Malfoy _ . _ ’ _ Hermione threw him a sweet smile which only seemed to make his shit eating grin more prominent. “I’m sorry but I must insist that bludgers, and whilst we’re on the subject, broomsticks too, are to remain _ solely _ on the Quidditch pitch. It would certainly save Madam Pomfrey and I an awful lot of stress.”

Theo huffed dramatically, throwing his hands up in defeat. “_ Fine _ , can’t blame a guy for trying!” Then turned his attention to Hermione. “If we aren’t allowed to have any fun then would you care to jump in and grace us with that spectacular brain of yours?” He made a mocking half bow, revelling in her scowl. “ _ O golden one. _”

Blaise and Malfoy snicker and she had to suppress the urge to smack the grins straight off their faces, it’s not like she hadn’t done it before, but perhaps not the smartest move in front of their Headmistress, even if she was sharing Hermione’s scowl at the three of them. 

“While a dance would be fun- _for some” _I add at Theo’s scoff, “it’s not exactly challenging is it? And-” she held up a hand to stop Dean’s interruption, “as much as football would demonstrate some physical skills, it’s a Muggle game with a player limit.” Not to mention boring as hell. “We should be using this event to show what we have learnt over the last seven, or in this case, eight years of school. Why not combine Muggle and magic? You want a final shot at winning glory for your house… We need to be thinking bigger.”

An idea formed in her mind, it could be mad, but if this works.. She met Malfoy’s gaze, daring him to protest the idea of a muggle influenced event. He’s still amused, but sensibly refrains. Again, she’s unsure how to process that. 

“Suspense is really killing me here, Granger.” Sarcasm really does seem to be a required trait of Slytherins. Usually Hermione would be all for the idea of bringing people together, but not this time.

_ ‘Oh no. It’s on.’ _

“Capture the flag.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth Dean latched onto her arm, shaking it back and forth, a huge grin plastered on his face.

“That’s brilliant! I used to play that in primary school!” It takes her a second to realise that the two of them are perhaps the only ones at the table who know what the game is, it would explain the blank stares, especially from the purebloods. 

Blaise interrupts the confused silence. “Uh- how exactly did you play that in muggle school without a broom?” 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, that’s a wizards game we used to play as kids. You each wear a belt with flags strapped them, and whoever has stolen the most flags at the end of the allotted time, wins..” Blaise narrows his eyes as if this was the most obvious answer in the world, and Hermione couldn’t contain her snort at the fact they have unknowingly been playing a version of a Muggle game since childhood.

“Would have been a great idea too”, Theo grumbles. “If Granger hadn’t have banned flying.” She would have felt guilty, she truly would have, but she really didn’t. “Admit it, everything is better on a broom.” A laugh escapes her. 

_ ‘You’re preaching to the wrong choir mate.’ _

“The _ original _ game is on the ground and involves some stealth and subterfuge. Not the blind chaos that you just described.” Blaise leans back in his chair, eyebrows raised, and motions for her to continue. 

“So, each house gets their own flag which they need to defend. We each have an area where we hide our flag. The aim is to cross over into enemy lines, or in this case house bases, to steal your opponent's flags. Usually it’s one on one and whoever is first to steal a flag and bring it back to their base, wins. But we could modify it so that we need to take two house flags and bring them back into your own house territory. If you come across an enemy and grab them, they are removed from the game until someone from their team can free them. To eliminate the risk of sounding too boring, instead of touching someone to take them out the game, we can use magic. Just nothing harmful of course.” Hermione rushed to add, glancing at the headmistress. 

“And where did you envision this would take place, Miss Granger?”

“Originally I had thought of somewhere in the castle, but it would most likely have to be an area on the grounds. The castle is too compact, It would be hard for spectators to watch and we would need people to check that players are abiding by the rules.” Hermione chose to ignore Theo’s eye roll at that. 

McGonagall’s expression turned pensive for a moment, mulling over the idea, and Hermione had a horrible feeling that this might just be the most ridiculous thing she’s ever said to her Professor. But just as she starts to regret intervening at all, McGonagall slowly nods in her direction.

“Make sure to write down all the rules before you leave, feel free to discuss amongst yourselves incase anyone else has any thoughts."

Once the initial shock had worn off, Hermione frantically grabbed for her parchment and quill, jotting down everything she knew about the game and listening to everyone’s input- the sensible ideas anyway. And that’s how the next hour flies by, the excitement growing with every discussion on the games. Hermione hoping they vote for this idea to go through to the other Professors. It would certainly be something to look forward to. Besides, if the wide grins are anything to go by, it seems the thought of being able to jinx their fellow students is just too tempting to pass up. Again, this could be a _ very _ bad idea.

Once all of their ideas were written up and finalised, McGonagall asked each student to write down their top three choices- besides our own- and passed around a bowl to place the votes in. It’s a tense wait as the headmistress tallies up the small bundles of parchment.

“The top three are as follows. With 16 votes, the panic room. With 18 votes we have the scavenger hunt.” The entire table seemed to collectively hold their breath.

“And with 21 votes, capture the flag.”

Hermione’s jaw nearly hit the mahogany table as her quick head count proved very single student had voted for her idea. This wasn’t something that usually happened to Hermione, _ at all. _ Always used to being singled out for her choice of extra curricular activities, she now worried she had gone too far. Hermione thought how Harry and Ron would react to her slightly impulsive idea, they would have loved to play had they been here… but surprisingly enough, that brought little comfort to Hermione, because nothing those boys ever did was considered sensible. She tried her best to focus on the delighted grins and chatter across the table, whatever the outcome of the staff vote, at least they won’t have to run around the castle after a Niffler or plummet to their deaths from a broom race.

After their celebrations died down, the headmistress bade them all goodnight, informing them to not share any details of this evening until the event is announced in the next few weeks. Realising they were now well past curfew, Hermione only just managed to drag herself up the stairs to the Gryffindor dormitories before exhaustion hit. But as she dove under the covers, Fay started excitedly whispering all the jinxes she would love to use on her fellow eighth years, casting a muffliato to hide their laughter over the thought of Theo doing the Can-can whilst his head is encased in a pumpkin. Suddenly it’s as if they weren’t tired at all, and when Parvati joins the hysterics explaining in great detail what she would like to do to Anthony Goldstein, (something which is _ definitely _ unsuitable for the younger years- or anyone in fact, to witness), that Hermione can’t help but realise how much they resemble the Muggle stereotype of cackling witches, plotting their victims demise through the late hours of the night. Yes, this will _ definitely _ be an event for the books.

***

Turns out Professor McGonagall didn’t make them wait the few weeks she had previously estimated. That Friday, only four days after their meeting, she stood up to address the great hall after dinner. ** **

“If I may please have your attention. I have some exciting news to share with you all.”

The chatter in the hall died down as every student looked towards the front, all except the eighth years who were sharing knowing, excited looks with one another, Hermione all of a sudden feeling quite ill.

“We have decided to host an event for the students who will be leaving the school after their N.E.W.T exams this year. This idea, along with many others was created and voted for by our eighth years.” 

Ginny whirled back around in her seat and looked incredulously between Hermione and Neville. ‘_ Yikes.’ _

“Myself and the rest of the staff have chosen the winning idea. This event is not by any means mandatory but is open to all seventh and eighth year students.”

Whispers and murmurs could be heard over the hall from disgruntled students. Catching on to the palpable disappointment of the younger years, McGonagall adds that they will have an end of year ball, this time more satisfactory chatter erupted from the tables. 

“And when were you going to tell me about this?” Ginny hissed in her ear. Truth be told, Hermione had been expecting this. Ginny was not one who liked being kept in the dark about, well, anything really, but Hermione still felt a little guilty at keeping this secret from her.

“Sorry Gin, we were told not to mention anything.” Her huff was the only response.

“Besides” Neville piped up from across the table, “we don’t even know what event they’ve gone for yet, we just got to pick our top three.” 

“So what idea did you come up with?”

Before they had the chance to reply, McGonagall’s voice broke out amongst the hall once more. “I am delighted to announce that our new annual event will be Capture the Flag! Game rules will be sent to your tables momentarily, please read them _ carefully _-”

The rest of the Headmistress’ words couldn’t be heard for they were drowned by the roar of victorious cries that erupted in the hall. All Hermione could do was stare completely dumbfounded at Neville and Dean, her name being called- no- _ chanted _, from multiple tables. Ginny bursts out with a maniacal laugh as Hermione is pulled from the bench and lifted into the air by a pair of strong arms. She was definitely going to be sick now.

“Guess that answers my question then?” She shouts over the crowd.

“DEAN!” She squealed, kicking out unsuccessfully. “Put. Me. Down_ .” _ His grip only tightened as he grinned from ear to ear. All attempts to break free were futile as she now clung on for dear life as Dean span them round. “ _ Now!” _

_ ‘No, no, no.’ _ Well isn’t this just fantastic, the whole school being witness to her inevitably throwing up all over my housemate. _ ‘Watch out people, everyone in the front row is in the splash zone.’ _

Mercifully he stops spinning, and from this vantage point Hermione’s eyes travel over to the furthest table from us, and land on a set of grey ones. His lips split into the most terrifying grin she had ever seen on his face. Theo, Blaise and the rest of the N.E.W.T level students around him drumming their fists against the table. A noise between what can only be described as an anxious laugh and a gag escapes Hermione at the sight. 

_ ‘What have I done?’ _


	2. Chapter 2

Once back in the common room they finally got a chance to take a proper look over the rules that were sent out after dinner. The great hall became too hectic to read over the parchment or for the words to actually sink in through the hysteria. All Gryffindor students who are eligible to take part in the event were now convened around the fire, taking up all the seats and majority of the floor space as they begin to familiarise themselves with the rules. ** **  
** **

Only Hermione, Dean, Neville, Fay and Parvati had returned for their eighth year, the same amount of students as Slytherin. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff each had six. Thankfully the Gryffindor's have ten seventh years in their house to hopefully match the total number of students between them and the other houses. If not, Hermione hoped McGonagall has something up her sleeve to even the playing field. ** **  
** **

The Professors had taken on board the notes they had written down in the meeting. One bit of information however, causes Hermione to make a sound that did not sound entirely human. The game wouldn’t be held in the castle, but in an _ arena. _ And not just one they pegged out in the grounds, oh no- that would be child’s play. They will be competing in a fully fledged magical arena, one just like the Triwizard challenge. Yep, they were utterly screwed. The only clue as to what this arena will look like was that each base will reflect aspects of each house. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Helpful.’ _ ** **  
** **

Ginny snorted when she read over that little detail. “Does that mean Ravenclaws base will be up in the trees? If so we better get working on our climbing skills.” A few nervous chuckles were shared between the seventh years, but Hermione was concerned just how accurate Ginny’s statement might actually be. ** **  
** **

“If that’s the logic we’re going by then I really hope you’re wrong, because Lions dwell in vast open spaces… that sure as shit doesn’t bode well for us, does it?” Hermione smiled at the blond girl, Alex, from Ginny’s year- one of our house beaters. Besides apparently having absolutely no filter and a more than reckless history at Hogwarts, (if the stories Ginny had told her were anything to go by,) she found herself grateful to be on the same team. She had a fire in her emerald eyes that she would not want to face on the pitch, much less in this arena. Hermione knew after watching her in the games that she won’t go down without a fight, and a fight it will be, judging by the reactions from the Slytherins. ** **  
** **

“You’re right, but they have to make each base equal in advantages and disadvantages. We just have to make sure we find out what they are before they do.” Hermione looks over McGonagall’s neat scrawl and reads the rest of the rules.** **  
** **

_ CAPTURE THE FLAG _ ** **  
** **

_Each house will have their own designated base where your house flag will be situated. To win the game you simply need to capture the flags from two opposing houses and return them back to your own base. The base lines will act as a safe zone. Spells can be used against you; however, you cannot be caught in your own base. Once you step outside the safety of your bases, all spells directed your way will remove you temporarily, or in the event every player from one house has been caught- permanently from the game. Players who are caught will become frozen and moved to the free zone in the centre of the arena. Fellow housemates will need to enter the free zone to rescue a frozen player, only then will they be able to return to the game. ** **  
** **_

_As the nature of this game calls for a show of defensive and offensive skills, we have decided to lift the general school rules for the purpose of this event only. They will be back in affect when the game is over. Here is the list of rules that will apply for all players entering the game:** **  
** **_

_~ As the free zone has a spell safety barrier, players will not be permitted to enter unless a housemate is in need of freeing. This area is off limits for hiding. _

_~ You are free to use any means of magic to your advantage, as long as it doesn’t cause irreparable damage, long lasting effects or harm a student in any way, however Players will not be allowed to disarm opponents or use the Disillusionment charm on themselves or others. _

_~Curses and hexes are strictly prohibited. Anything you wish to bring with you will be inspected by your head of house before heading into the arena. Any inappropriate items will be confiscated until the end of term. _

_~ Flags cannot be summoned or moved by magical means, to capture the flag you must physically remove it from it’s base. _

_~ Familiars and broomsticks will not be allowed in the games. _

_~ Performance enhancing potions are forbidden. You will be checked prior to the game. _

_~ You must not wear colours of the other houses. Black/grey clothes are preferable as you will be given bandanas for house identification. ** **  
** **_

_If any of these rules are broken then you will be disqualified from the game. House points may be taken depending on the severity of the offense. _ ** **  
** **

A separate parchment was sent out to each table in the hall for students to sign up if they wished to join the games. Even though they were given a month to decide whether to volunteer, Hermione couldn’t help her smile at the full list of Gryffindor's, adding her own name to the bottom of the list.** **  
** **

_Ginny Weasley_

_Neville Longbottom_

_Dean Thomas_

_Parvati patil_

_Daniel Jenkins_

_Alex Rivers_

_Lara Parsons_

_Will Hewitt_

_Roland Hunter_

_Mila Torres_

_Eilidh Cooke_

_Cale Anderson_

_Owen Hornwood_

_Fay Dunbar_

_Hermione Granger_ ** **  
** **

As soon as the quill detaches from the parchment it vanishes from her hands with a dramatic flourish that their old potions master would be proud of. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Guess there’s no going back now…’ _ ** **  
** **

Cale runs his hands through his sandy hair, staring dumbfounded at the rules. “I still can’t believe they’re actually allowing us to jinx other students, this is insane. _ Brilliant _ ,” he adds quickly, “but insane!” ** **  
** **

“This doesn’t sound like your average arena either…” says Will.** **  
** **

Ginny nods, her eyes glued to the parchment. “I agree. By the sounds of it we’re going to have an incredible amount of ground to cover, and as we need to steal not one but two flags, the game could go on all day.” She paused, fixing the group with a wild grin. “We’ll need to train.” No one should sound that happy at the prospect of exercise but Ginny was something else, well, she wasn’t captain of the Quidditch team for nothing. “Who’s up for joining me on my runs?” She wiggles her brows at the less than enthusiastic group. ** **  
** **

Hermione is the first to raise her hand, if begrudgingly. Considering she already joins her some days and no doubt will need to clear her head with exams approaching, a few more runs might be a welcome distraction. Especially if it’s a Thursday evening or Sunday morning of the following week, where they might stumble across the Slytherins on their way to and from Quidditch practice. Not that Hermione knew their schedule of course. _ Absolutely not. _ ** **  
** **

Cale and Roland immediately jump on board, looking delighted at the prospect of a physical challenge and started discussing their schedules with Ginny. With a few groans and eye rolls, the rest of the group reluctantly follow. ** **  
** **

“On one condition.” Hermione adds, “we can’t be seen on the grounds- not all of us together anyway. The other houses will catch on to our plan and probably follow our lead. I fully intend to thrash them in this.”** **  
** **

“Where should we train then?” Asked Mila.** **  
** **

Neville chuckled, catching Hermione’s eye. “Somewhere we will have everything we could possibly _ require _.”

** **

***** **  
** **

An area to train, that’s all Hermione had asked for as they made their way to the seventh floor landing on Saturday morning. But apparently the Room of Requirement was either a complete and utter sadist, or playing the ultimate prank on them. Hermione’s eyes dart alarmingly over the vast space, wondering which section would be first to rapidly lower her life expectancy.** **  
** **

The room itself didn’t resemble much of a room at all, but looked as if they had just walked through a doorway into hidden woodlands, the likes one would only see in a Tolkien novel, and easily the size of two Quidditch pitches. Hermione looked behind her and sure enough, the door was sealed into the base of a huge oak tree. To the right of them sat a wide ring of logs surrounding a low table full of water bottles, well at least it gave them _ some _ comforts. Under normal circumstances Hermione would relish in the beauty of it all. Perhaps next week. Because right now, all she could focus on was the terrifying sight before her. ** **  
** **

There were levitating beams that swayed randomly 5 feet above the ground with heavy sandbags swinging across them as if held by an invisible rope. To the left she spotted fast moving rapids with a selection of rocky platforms just above the water to hop across, which Hermione didn’t think looked too bad, until the small stone squares begin to quiver before disappearing altogether, leaving a large gap to plummet straight into the tempestuous water below.** **  
** **

In the centre stood an assault course that looks like it belonged to the muggle military, with a fifteen meter high rope cargo net that had some areas missing, followed by a death drop slide into murky waters below. There was also a long running track surrounding the entire area across varying terrains. At first glance it seemed a simple and almost easy course, if not for what appeared to be a glowing spherical electrical charge floating it’s merry way above, zapping the track at random intervals. The demising possibilities were endless. ** **  
** **

_ Good lord _ . This wasn’t training. This was _ ‘Welcome to the 151 ways to die in the Room of Requirement, as demonstrated by Hermione Jean Granger. Brightest witch of her age, yet _ dumb _ enough to tempt fate.’ _ ** **  
** **

Ginny cackles as she followed closely behind Hermione. “I guess we have to be a little more specific in the future.”** **  
** **

“Bloody hell.”** **  
** **

“You’re starting to sound like my brother.” Her friend’s eyes travel over one hellish obstacle to the next, letting out an appreciative whistle. Behind them, sharp intakes of breath and a string of creative curses follow as the rest of the seventh and eighth year Gryffindor's file into the room. The faint _ click _ of the door echoing in the stunned silence. ** **  
** **

“Blimey Hermione, you really aren’t messing around.” Neville chuckled, even though his hazel eyes were twice their usual size, she noticed a determined set to them.** **  
** **

“Let’s start off easy today shall we? Work our way up to the.. um…” It wasn’t everyday that Hermione found herself speechless. ** **  
** **

“Death traps?” A seventh year boy suggests.** **  
** **

“Rapids of doom?” Says another.** **  
** **

“Circuit of mortal peril?” Dean grins when she rolls her eyes at him. “What? I thought it sounded kinda catchy…”** **  
** **

“_ -More challenging areas _ .” Hermione finished, shoving his shoulder in the direction of the circuit. “Honestly, such drama queens this morning.” ** **  
** **

_ ‘As if you weren’t thinking the same thing.’ _ ** **  
** **

Ginny’s excitement is palpable as they headed over to the track. Everyone falling into a nervous silence, the past and present Quidditch players positioning themselves into a familiar stretching and warm up routine, which everyone else proceeded to mirror. However once they got into a gentle jog, Hermione’s muscles started to fall into a familiar rhythm and it isn’t long till they picked up the pace, weaving around muddy ground and rocky terrain. For a while all that could be heard was the laboured panting and hard pounding of feet. Until Dean broke into a muggle military cadence at the top of his voice that made everyone jump, shooting baffled looks at one another, unable to contain her laughter at Ginny’s sideward glance, mouthing _ “what the fuck?” _ ** **  
** **

Her eyes widen when Hermione follows his lead, bursting into breathless song. Soon the entire group catches on to this seemingly strange yet motivating muggle custom, singing at various stages on the forest outskirts. ** **  
** **

“Here we go"  
_Here we go _

“Round the track”  
_Round the track _

“One lap”  
_One lap _

“No slack  
_No slack” _

“Easy run”  
_Easy run _

“No sweat”  
_No sweat _

“Let’s bring this home”  
_Let’s bring this home _

“But before then”  
_But before then _

“Easy run”  
_Easy run _

“No sweat”  
_No sweat _

“Let’s crush them all”  
_Let’s crush them all _

“Do you yield yet?”  
_Do you yield yet? _

By the fifth lap of the track, Dean’s cadence had only grown more and more crude, to the point where breathing had become difficult. “Even if we don’t win this,” Ginny wipes her eyes, trying to calm her lungs. “I will forever be grateful for this moment right here.”** **  
** **

Deciding it was time to move onto other areas, they split apart from the group, allowing a few minutes to catch their breath before starting the least threatening rope course.** **  
** **

“So talk me through the seventh years.” Ginny pauses her climb to shoot me a curious look. ** **  
** **

“What do you want to know?”** **  
** **

“I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t given myself the chance to get to know them much, I always felt- I don’t know…”** **  
** **

Hermione pulled herself over the lip of the first cargo net hurdle. How _ did _ she feel? _ Lost? Left out? _ It was no secret that she takes her education seriously, who wouldn’t when presented with the most unbelievable world that even being apart of still didn’t seem real at times. But that determined thirst to prove that she belonged here hindered a lot of possible friendships. ** **  
** **

“I’ve never exactly been one for making friends easily. It was hard coming back without Harry and Ron, _ we _ didn’t even like each other to begin with.” ** **  
** **

“You _ didn’t?” _ ** **  
** **

“Godric, no. Harry was more understanding to my situation as he was raised as a muggle, but Ron.. to him I was the ‘_ know it all nightmare’ _ who tried to show him up in every class. I never really realised, or maybe I just never cared that that’s how people perceived me, until I overheard him bitching to Harry one day in front of everyone. It hurt, _ a lot, _ and I was pretty much inconsolable the rest of the day- until they saved my life that evening.” ** **  
** **

“Saved your life?!”** **  
** **

“Yep!” Hermione grinned, taking advantage of the girl’s shock to pass her on the next section. “There’s nothing quite like the threat of being bludgeoned to death in a bathroom by a fully grown mountain troll, to make a friendship blossom.”** **  
** **

“Shitty death!” ** **  
** **

_ “Literally _ .” ** **  
** **

“You really never had a quiet year with them around, did you?”** **  
** **

“Nope. Although I doubt this year is going to be any less hectic now.”** **  
** **

Ginny snorts. “You only have yourself to blame for this, but I for one am grateful!”** **  
** **

Hermione groaned, not wanting to think about just how chaotic this game could be. “I just thought if I’m going to be spending a lot more time with your year then I want to get to know them properly, also know any possible strengths and weaknesses we may have to deal with when we get in that arena.”** **  
** **

“Smart.” Ginny nods, continuing to climb each rung of the large rope ladder. “Ok so there’s Mila, her parents are botanists who work all around the world, but mainly South America where her family originates, so naturally her strengths are in Herbology and Potions. But she’s used to travelling to all kinds of places and in extreme climates so I doubt this arena will faze her much.”** **  
** **

“Then there’s Will. Just like you, Transfiguration is his favourite subject, you’ve seen him in class, so far there hasn’t been anything McGonagall has thrown at us which he has stumbled on.” That was true, they had even partnered up sometimes just to test how far their talents could reach. Hermione was thrilled to have someone challenge her mind the way he does. ** **  
** **

“He’s also in the chess club with Daniel- pretty good too, so if you’re looking for strategists, they’re your best bet. Daniel is more into Astrology and Ancient Runes, which I guess isn’t as useful in a game like this..” Gin trails off with a shrug, “But who knows what we’re going to face in there.” ** **  
** **

“Those two-” she indicates to Roland and Cale just off to the left of them, tackling the rapids with ease- “are practically inseparable!” She lowered her voice to just above a whisper as if they had hearing to rival a hound. “Definitely the fittest of the men too, but for Merlin’s sake _please_ don’t tell them that. Their families spend a couple of weeks together in the summer, never in the same place but always off on some adventure. One year it’s snowboarding in Canada, the next they’re mountain climbing in Norway or white water rafting down the Colorado river. It’s usually some grand adventure which we _always_ have regaled to us on the journey back to Hogwarts. They’re as close as brothers, which means _everything_ is a competition to them. This years tales of triumph were how many Moray eel bites they accumulated whilst cave diving in the Philippines, or rather how many women they roped into nursing their ‘battle wounds’.” Hermione mirrored Ginny’s eye roll, grateful that the likes of Cormac McLagan were no longer here to join the battle of the egos. By the sounds of it they would make great runners or scouts though, which they will definitely need in the games. ****  
****

“We’ve actually started placing bets on how long it takes before they start bragging. If Cale had only kept his damn mouth shut for another 27 seconds I would have been 5 galleons richer.”** **  
** **

“Who won?”** **  
** **

“Lara.” She grumbles. “I swear she egged him on though! All she had to do was flash him one of her killer smiles and he was like putty in her hands! She has a healthy competitive streak and like you, absolutely abhors flying. I think she’ll be able to handle herself pretty well as long as she remains on the ground, unlike Owen, he’s been our house keeper for the last two years, so he’s not someone who is put off by heights. His reflexes are insane and he’s always excelled in Defence Against the Dark Arts- specifically shielding and dodging attacks whenever we’ve had to do a practical class, you spend most of the time just getting past his defences.”** **  
** **

Hermione smiled as they meandered through a series of balance beams. Ginny was always very perceptive, she’d make a great Auror if she wasn’t so hell bent on Quidditch. ** **  
** **

“Obviously you’ve heard the stories about Alex… she’s our wildcard. Fierce, impulsive, has no sense of self preservation but she’s strong, and a quick thinker. It’s why she makes such a great beater. But sometimes no matter how much instruction you give her, she just does her own thing. Most of the time it works out alright, but sometimes the outcome is catastrophic.” Gin shrugs as if that was the most casual statement in the world. ** **  
** **

“Eilidh on the other hand, is the polar opposite. She’s quiet, not shy by any means but much more reserved. She prefers to observe the chaos rather than start it, although she is wickedly cunning when she wants to be. A dab hand at Charms too, surprised us all a couple of times by using unconventional spells we’d never even dream of using together or combining.” ** **  
** **

As soon as they stepped onto the next stage of the course; a tightrope bridge above a pool of muddy water, Ginny breaks out in a fit of giggles. Gingerly moving forward, Hermione grasped the small strand of rope above her head, the only thing stopping them from toppling over and into the murky depths below.** **  
** **

“Once, she used the Furnunculus jinx on a Ravenclaw in the year below who thought her and Owen were an item. This girl went into a full on jealous rage after seeing them hug after a Quidditch game. That evening she was eating dinner in the great hall, and suddenly broke out with oozing vibrant green boils all over her face. Of course, Eilidh was quick to cast an Accio on a piece of toast so when the girl accused her and McGonagall checked her wand, there was no evidence of her casting the jinx. But Eilidh hadn’t just changed the boils colour… sh- she also mixed it with the sonorous charm, you could-”** **  
** **

Hermione shrieked, feet slipping as Ginny clutched her ribs trying and failing to contain her joyous cackle. The tightrope jostling wildly with every shaky breath. ** **  
** **

“You _ dare _ throw me off this and there will be hell to pay, Weasley!” Hermione looked back but her friend was too far gone to care, her eyes swimming with tears and Hermione bit her lip to stifle her laugh because _ damn it woman _ this is _ not _ the time to lose her grip! ** **  
** **

“Hermione, you could- _oh Merlin_\- it was like she had facial diarrhoea! You-_ You could hear the popping from across the hall!_ _AHAAA!_” And just like that, the girls were gone, hurtling off the rope and plunging into the icy water like flailing gibbons. Hermione, about to launch herself at Ginny for dragging her down as well, instead pauses at the sight before her, screaming with laughter. Ginny had apparently failed to keep her mouth closed and emerged a few feet away spitting out a mound of mushy leaves, dry heaving.****  
****

Hermione clutched her sides. “That… has got to be… the _ best _ thing I’ve seen all year!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The military cadence was inspired by Mile Ten, Let's do it again (Marine corps)


	3. Chapter 3

As the weeks flew by, the Room of Requirement decided to up its game. As if it was observing their physical limits grow, then _ kindly _ ridding them of easier tasks, pushing them harder. Some obstacles required more than two people to navigate, and some gave them stomach hurdling trust exercises. Other areas of the original course had parts missing, meaning they had to band together and find a way to help each other across, having to use magic to produce ropes to grapple over high drops and fast-moving water, or cast sticking charms when climbing steep rock walls. There were many times when all Hermione wanted to do was turn on her heels upon seeing it’s latest trials, but she needed this. They all did. 

Hermione could already see the changes in the few short months of training. The warm-up runs became a doddle, moving onto the obstacles far less breathless than when she first started. Those blasted monkey bars that had her cursing every damn time she fell off into the icy water below, Hermione had crossed without fail for the first time just last week. Thanks to Cale and Roland’s helping hands. During their first week of training, she’d clearly made a spectacle of herself and by their second week, they had both intervened, hoisting Hermione back up and taking part of her weight so her arms could adjust to the stretch. Originally Hermione had protested, feeling mortified they were walking waist-deep through the muddy water, but they seemed genuinely eager to help. It wasn’t pity in their eyes but a challenge, and if they were prepared to traipse through Merlin knows what to help, then she would be a damned fool to give up. Each attempt at the course they carried less and less of her weight until finally, Hermione made her way across without assistance. The elation of what she was sure most people would deem a simple victory, lasted for days.

Not even Peeves’ slew of merry insults could dampen the mood that week. Nor the dirty mop heads he’d pilfered from Filch, launching at anyone brave, or should she say stupid enough, to attempt the corridors on the fourth floor. If anything, he gave Hermione the perfect opportunity to test her shielding (and reflexes), halting each mop and grinning when they fell to the floor with a satisfying wet _ slop, _causing Peeves to pause and blink dumbly at her. However, she made a pretty hasty exit when his eyes narrowed with renewed determination, not wanting to push her luck and find out what his new idea was.

But it wasn’t just in herself that she noticed the subtle differences in. All of them had improved in their own way and not just physically, but mentally too. Most evenings were spent nursing minor wounds, wrapping up with hot chocolate and throws in the common room, whilst chatting animatedly (well those of them that had some strength left at least), about their progress in what was slowly becoming- would you believe- their favourite room in the castle. There was nothing quite like the mutual need for healing salve and replaying embarrassing fails, to bring everyone together. 

Surprisingly enough, Hermione still made time to get her revision and homework schedule completed, even when they upped the ante with our training. In fact, it helped her keep focused, taking those breaks to work out her body and let her mind de-stress. In the evenings Hermione became too exhausted to even think about their N.E.W.T’s, let alone worry about them, and the peaceful night's sleep was absolute bliss… 

Or at least it was until Ginny decided to barge into her slumbering sanctuary at some ungodly hour of the morning, demanding Hermione join her for a run.

“No.” She grumbled as Ginny pulled the bed curtains back, allowing the first rays of the sun to invade Hermione’s veiled cocoon. Burrowing further under the safety of the sheets only caused Ginny to laugh and prod her shoulder with a firm, determined finger. Godric give her strength. 

“Geroffme… Too achey…” 

_ “It’s Sunday morning!” _She sings. 

_ Well this confirms it, she’s not human. _ No one _ is this fucking chipper at this time of morning. _

Dodging Hermione’s attempts to bat away her persisting assault, her well-aimed jabs to her shoulder and ribs become harder until Hermione is forced to lower the covers and give her a look she hoped relays the right amount of ‘_ Fuck off’ _ and ‘ _ I _ will _ kill you’. _

“Exactly! Let me sleeeeeep.” Finally taking pity on her now surely bruised body, Gin steps away from the bed, rocking back and forth on her heels and smiling. 

“It’s the _ second _ Sunday of the month.” Hermione’s chest thrummed slightly at the prospect of that statement. That meant it was a Slytherin training day, one she had missed for over a month because of her choice to use the room of requirement with the other Gryffindor's. There was only one thing that could amend this rude intrusion- Malfoy in Quidditch robes. Heat filled her core as the most delectable memories from his last practice burst forth, and Hermione found herself very, _ very _ grateful that she was not a man.

_ ‘Just cool it down there will you? We’re meant to be angry! Not hungry for Slytherin schlong. _’

“Your point?” She eventually asks, daring her to say what she was _ really _ insinuating. Hermione hadn’t realised she had been that obvious, but then again Gin was far too perceptive for her own good.

“No point… just sure is a nice morning for some sightseeing.” A slight curve of her lips betraying her innocent statement. 

_ Bollocks. _

It’s too damn early for any response that won’t confirm her suspicions, so instead Hermione continued to glare. “Well if you change your mind,” she says far too sweetly, summoning Hermione’s running clothes to lay on the bedside table. “I’ll be leaving in fifteen minutes. Someone’s got to keep up appearances after all.” Ginny winks and then _ finally _ leaves the dorm room. 

Hermione’s almost tempted to let the bitch run solo and mould herself back under the covers, but as the minute's tick over her eyes lost their heaviness, they instead focus on the stack of clothes left invitingly on the table. Damn her. Launching back the covers Hermione frantically grabbed the clothes, changing in double time to keep the winter chill from seeping further into her bones. 

“_Such a nice morning for sightseeing… Got to keep up appearances…” Hermione, petulant? Never. _

“Mi-nee.” Faye croaked from the bed beside her. “S’too early.” 

‘_You’re telling me.’ _

Whispering a quick apology Hermione silently pads across the room and into the bathroom, noticing she only has a few minutes left, she fixes her hair into a bun, forcing all kinds of sticking charms to keep that fucker in place. Thankfully Gin had picked Hermione’s warmest yoga trousers, along with her long sleeve black tank and grey gym hoodie. Layers are your friends when dealing with bitter Scottish winds. 

Exactly fifteen minutes later Hermione was downstairs and faced with Ginny, who was wearing the most triumphant grin. “New perfume?”

“Shut it.” Her responding cackle causes Hermione’s lips to twitch as they head out of the portrait hole and towards the frosty grounds. Of course, the nose of a bloodhound too. Curse the day she ever decided to befriend the youngest Weasley.

*** 

(Draco)

The wind was blistering as they headed out of the castle. Why Quidditch had to start in the middle of fucking winter eluded him, but to give them Sunday mornings for practice was just downright cruel. Although, there were some benefits to the early morning routine- or had been at least. Granger had decided to grace the grounds with her presence, accompanying the she Weasel in the most spectacular display of stretches before their run along the grounds. Until she’d stopped. 

Two whole miserably bleak months had gone by without a single sighting, not even at his evening practices on Thursdays, which she never missed. Draco had even resorted to running himself on the days he didn’t spend flying, in hopes of catching her. It was easy to use ‘Quidditch training’ to justify the extra exercise but it quickly became a pointless endeavour. Originally he had thought perhaps the weather had been less than appealing, he honestly couldn’t blame her, choosing the warmth of her sheets over the frozen downpour the highlands had to offer, but like a rare bird on the cusp of migration, she was nowhere to be seen. Except in their classes but more fool you to anyone who decided to disturb her during her studies, so instead Draco settled for fleeting glances around the castle halls or at dinner. 

But the weather had never affected Granger’s attitude when it came to their weekly run-ins on the grounds if anything she was more observant of their practice. He wasn’t blind to the glances, and it wasn’t just Draco who noticed. Ginny had also caught her lust eyed, studying the way the drenched uniforms clung to their skin. The redhead smiled secretly whenever she did but otherwise remained silent. And then, of course, there was Theo, who apparently took great pleasure in pointing out Draco’s frustrations concerning the Witch. He’d needed an entire bucket of coffee this morning to keep from hexing his Slytherin jewels, as his friend yet again remarked on the tension and suggested Draco would be better off seeking out her golden snatch rather than the golden snitch if he was to stay focused this league. At least Blaise had the damn sense to keep his mouth shut on the subject.

Turning the corner, they heading into the open area of the grounds. Draco started to mount his broom early, distancing him from Theo’s jibes, when Blaise nudged his shoulder, lips splitting into a feral grin. Following his line of sight, Draco stumbled forwards, his hold on the broom tightening tenfold. It appeared the little bird had finally returned, wearing an ensemble that had Draco wanting to perform all acts of Muggle fuckery. 

Kicking off the ground with renewed vigour, Draco hurtled towards the pitch, making sure to keep in their eye line, Blaise’s chuckle dying on the lashing of frigid wind. Two heads snap up from their trail but he keeps his eyes forward. He’d give her a show first before acting like he had even noticed their presence. Malfoy’s do not chase, they tempt and they tease. They bide their time. ‘We get _ them _ to come to _ us _ . We absolutely do _ not _ make a tit of ourselves by showing one-third of the golden trio the rock hard evidence that her proximity had caused.’ A torrent of icy rain would be a welcome relief right about now.

It feels like hours before he allowed himself to marvel at the Gryffindor, attention easily disguised by searching for the Snitch. They had taken the long route, running the length of the black lake before ducking into the forest again, which only benefited him, that meant he could hopefully corner her on the way back to the castle. But even going the extended route, they were miles ahead of their usual time. Here she was, after apparently missing the last few months of running, looking faster and stronger than ever. The Witch didn’t even look _ winded _.

By the end of their practice, the two Gryffindor's had convened around a large oak between the castle and the lake for their post-run cool down. Granger’s delectable arse thrust up in a series of stretches. Now _ that _ was a sight worth getting out of bed for. 

_ ‘Mmm. Downward dog… upward cock.’ _

Theo laughed as he and Blaise moved towards the girls, looking back over his shoulder to Draco as he passed. “Either go say hello or go get a room, it looks like you’re trying to wank your broom off mate.”

_ ‘Prick _.’

Quickly dismounting, Draco took a second to adjust the throbbing in his trousers and follow behind them. He didn’t even hear the greeting that had Ginny already riled up, too focused on Granger easing out of her delicious position. An adorable blush masking her hardened stare at Theo. 

_ ‘Why the fuck did they have to interrupt them.’ _

Her eyes fly to Draco’s and the question is out of his mouth before he could stop himself. “Where have you been?” 

_ ‘Fuck sake Draco, way to keep it cool.’ _ Apparently all the blood supply had gone straight to his cock, cutting off the circulation to his brain. Clearing his throat Draco summoned his best grin. “Scared the rain would mess up your hair?” Her eyes pin him down for what feels like a lifetime before those sinful lips tug upwards. 

_ ‘So we’re back to our old game again are we? And breathe.’ _

“We _ do _ have studies to focus on you know.” She admonished. “I’ve been rather tired.”

Ginny snorts. “Understatement of the fucking century, it was like waking the dead this morning.”

“Which by the way, no one _ asked _ you to do.”

“But it’s no fun running solo!” Pouting mockingly at Hermione’s glare. “Besides, I thought you _ enjoyed _ this little get together?” 

“Yeah well I’ve _ enjoyed _ solo time in bed even more.” Her eyes widen astronomically at her poor choice of words, and Draco had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing, but it was too late, Blaise was already there.

“Please Granger, keep going.” Theo leered at both of them, wiggling his eyebrows. “How exactly did Red here rouse you from sleep? I could work wonders with this visual later.” 

_ “Keep imagining _ , Hermione’s voice a teasing whisper of fictitious sympathy. “Because that’s as far as you’ll _ ever _ get.” 

Chocolate eyes flicker briefly towards Draco before the two of them stroll back to the castle, hips swaying tauntingly in those tight Muggle leggings, and Draco found himself praying beyond hope that her statement only included Theo… and Blaise… ok and every other man in the castle besides himself. 

***

(Draco)

Three months till the game.

Usually Draco looked forward to Saturday morning breakfast, there was something quite satisfying about starting the day with a sugar rush. Specifically hot pancakes with golden syrup and sliced banana- it had become his routine, and yet today he could barely manage a mouthful.

Draco had always prided himself on the fact that not much over the years has managed to escape his notice, having grown up around self-entitled emotionless and often lunatic acquaintances, one starts to learn to read people, the signs of approval, disappointment, and more importantly; the signs of deceit. And when it came to the students on the far side of the hall, Draco knew there was something amiss. Something in the latter category. 

Granger had, _ thank Merlin _, carried on with her runs on the castle grounds. He had even managed to join her on some, taking extreme caution to make sure he was out there first and already running by the time she appeared. He couldn’t exactly have her thinking he was there purely for her company or anything. So when he noticed her lean form out of her uniform, he could understand the physical improvement in the Witch. The strong posture, defined arm muscles, and that delightfully toned bum. He could justify the difference in the redhead too, but every single N.E.W.T level student from that insufferable house seemed to be fitter and buzzed beyond belief. 

What the fuck are they feeding them in that tower? Even Neville fucking Longbottom?! His back was facing Draco, leaning on the table. Had he not turned his head to speak to the girl on his right, Draco would never have said that was him. But now he knew, he couldn’t stop looking, couldn’t stop thinking how the fuck this was possible. Not that it was enough to feel threatened by, absolutely not! But… _ Fuck. _

“Any particular reason you’re having a staring match with Granger?” Theo piped up from beside him. “She kind of looks like she wants to eat you alive and I won’t lie, it’s doing things to me.”

_ ‘What?’ _

He’d been so focused on the mystery of Longbottom he hadn’t noticed her behind him on the bench. Her chestnut eyes burning into my his as she peered around her housemate. Head resting casually in her hand, wearing the most glorious and yet dooming smirk he’d ever seen adorning her features. Granger’s gaze travelled from Draco to Neville and back again, eyebrows raised in silent inquisition. He’d been caught, not just ogling a man but fucking Longbottom!

_ ‘Oh fuck my actual life.’ _

She dropped her gaze when Blaise turned to look at the far table over his shoulder, which Draco silently thanked him for, wishing he could hide behind him for the rest of the day as he wasn’t at all comforted by the way she was smiling to herself.

“They’re up to something.” Draco finally answered Theo’s statement, his friend groaned in response, throwing his head in his hands.

“Not this again!”

“What?”

“Mate, we’ve spent the last Merlin knows how many years listening to you ramble on about how the golden trio were _ ‘up to something’- _”

“That’s because they always were!” Theo lifts his eyes to the ceiling and sighed in defeat as Blaise turned his attention back to his breakfast, a pensive look on his face.

“You’re wondering why they’re all looking so physically fit, not just Granger and Weasley?” Blaise’s question was more of a statement. So he wasn’t going mad, he’d seen it too.

_ “Circe’s tits! _ Not you as well.”

“You don’t think it’s weird that we constantly see them in their workout gear at lunches, eating their entire body weight in food and yet no one’s seen them out on the grounds?” Blaise replies.

“Can’t say I spend much time checking out Gryffindor's. But our uniforms don’t exactly do wonders for the figure, and these Muggle clothes are a lot more… fitting.” Theo paused as the three of them watch Granger and two of the seventh year boys leave the hall.” Perhaps we just never noticed them until now.” 

“Sorry mate, I’m with Draco on this one.”

“Splendid. So let me guess, you want us to go all Slytherin surveillance on them?”

“Can’t hurt” Draco replied, noticing the post had arrived. A speckled barn owl swooped in, landing on the edge of his plate, holding out a bright purple envelope. The bird stole off with the last of Theo’s bacon, causing the boy to curse further, but Draco paid him no mind as he ripped open the letter and quickly read through the contents, unable to contain his grin. His humiliation be damned. This day just got a whole lot better.

“What’s that?” Blaise asks. Theo leans over to snoop and Draco hands it over so they can read.

“That,” he says, “is our game plan.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Merlin’s wrinkly rectum, Hermione! What the _ fuck _ did you ask for?”

Hermione and Ginny had both stopped short upon walking into the Room of Requirement. Only recently had they just gotten used to it’s trickery, but this was something else. 

“I, um-” Hermione swallowed. What _had_ she asked for? Their normal training room was all she had requested, granted, her mind may have run away with her slightly- _oh_ _no._ She looked up sheepishly. “I may have been thinking about how much I wanted to kick your arse for that stunt you pulled earlier.” Ginny opened her mouth in mute shock. “Oh, like you don’t deserve it!”

In Defence Against the Dark Arts they had been given a practical lesson of blocking and jinxing their partners wandlessly. The bitch had only gone and demanded that ‘_ It was only fair that the top two students from the class be paired together.’ _Meaning she had spent two hours blocking attacks from a grinning Malfoy. And although she managed to block a vast amount of jinxes and got some decent shots in herself, she still ended up dancing around the room uncontrollably and soaked with jets of water, not having time to dry herself before his next attack. All the while Ginny is having a right old laugh. So yes, she deserved to have her arse kicked. 

“But I never envisioned this!” Her arms motioning towards the right of their usual training area. 

A wide path through the forest stretched out into another expansive field, where their next torturous trial awaited. Centred in the middle of a wide moat sat a looming stone tower, at least fifty feet high, and thirty feet wide. From Hermione’s viewpoint she could see four levels of various obstacles surrounding the outskirts of the solid stone centre.

Two bridged structures jutted out on either side of the formidable fortress, laying in wait. The moat acted as the first layer of challenges, with a selection of wooden beams and stepping stones encircling the building, before ascending to the second level; a spider web of rope obstacles. Some of which were stationary like the cargo nets in their normal course, but others were dangling precariously above the drop to the moat and the wooden structures below. Up and up her eyes travel over each individual layer of the tower, every section causing her throat to constrict and my stomach to drop. 

The level above the patchwork of ropes looked empty from her viewpoint, showing only a few narrow platforms protruding from the centre of the building. There must be some hidden trick, something they couldn’t see, and Hermione was unsure whether she found the lack of obstacles comforting or downright disconcerting, but she chose not to linger on the possibilities until they got up there. _ Wait, they? Was she _ seriously _ contemplating doing this? _ Groaning at the challenging glint in Ginny’s eyes, _ of course they are doing this. _

“I wonder what’s up there?” Ginny pointed to the very top platform, where a gold circle glows from atop a spire, adding even more height to the colossal tower. 

“At this point I don’t even want to know.”

“It looks like the course is mirrored, we just start at opposite bridges, working our way up to… I guess whatever is at the very top.” She said nonchalantly. 

“Simple as that!”

Gin chuckled. “Yea, no biggie.”

“You two fuckers are insane, you know that right?” 

Count on Alex to state the obvious. Hermione looked over her shoulder at the seventh year girls who decided to join them, each of them with mirrored expressions of shock. The boys having placed bets on Will and Daniel’s latest chess match, decided to give this afternoon a miss. Fay was hauled up in the library trying to finish a last minute assignment, and Parvati wasn’t as fond of this room’s more rigorous approach to training, instead choosing to focus on some yoga in our dorm room, and right now Hermione was wishing she had joined her.

“I guess that means we’re going solo then?” Ginny quips. 

Alex snorts, heading towards the usual water table- now conveniently equipped with wand holsters. “As if Weasley, I’m in.”

“Cale and Roland are going to be gutted they missed this!” A delightful smile spreads across Eilidh’s face. “I can’t wait to tell them later.”

Lara assessed the tower with no small amount of trepidation. “I think I’ll give this one a miss for now, I’m still sore from that blasted rock climb yesterday. I’ll do a run later, but I _ have _ to watch this!” Eilidh laughed, nodded in agreement as they headed over to the conveniently placed stands just in front of the course, high enough to be able to see all four levels and the spire atop the helter-skelter of pain. 

_ ‘Brilliant. Because shitting myself wasn’t bad enough, now everyone gets to witness it.' _

“Right, well… I vote Hermione and Ginny go first, ya know, to test it out.”

“Cheers Mila,” Hermione grumbled.

“You are so welcome.” The olive skinned beauty laughed, clapping Hermione on the shoulder as they all grabbed a wand holster from Alex. “We’ll give you a few minutes head start so we’re not scrambling over each other and you know, end up dying.”

Their small group headed over to the bridges on either side of the moat, Ginny and Alex on one side, Hermione and Mila on the other.

“I hope you’re ready!” Ginny shouts over. No, she wasn’t.

“Three… Two…”

_ ‘Fuck this is really happening, why did I agree to try this out first. Oh that’s right, _I didn’t.’

One…”

“GO!” Mila screamed behind Hermione and her legs hurtle forward across the wooden bridge, jumping onto the large stepping stones in the water, some were stationary but others caused her knees to buckle when they started moving back and forth, then side to side randomly. But even with the added challenge, Hermione made it round half of the first level without injury. So far, so good.

Up ahead a selection of wooden beams rose out of the water, the surface slippery from being submerged. Each beam levitating up and down, performing a Mexican wave in their honour. Hermione’s stomach lurched as a few of the beams cause her to slip, but by some miracle she made it to the rope ladder at the end without falling. Hauling herself up in double time when she couldn't see Ginny from this side of the tower, and realising she must already be ahead. 

Rolling onto the safety of the narrow wooden platform with very little dignity, Hermione groaned not just from how tired her limbs were already feeling, but at seeing what delights await her. Bloody monkey bars encircling the outskirts of the third level. Scrambling to her feet, Hermione observed the rungs above her and the evenly spaced gaps in the platforms ahead, too big to jump across and definitely too high to want to fall down. She peeked below at the drop, thankful that at least the rope course from the second level would break her fall, not that it would be a particularly comfortable landing. Hermione took a minute to steady her breath, stretching out the ache in her arms when a rumbling noise like grinding stone, made her pause. Not five meters ahead of her, large horizontal wooden columns start protruding from the centre wall, looking like a behemoth pirate ship helm. Each one clicking into place with a final _ thud _ before an eerie silence, like the course itself has paused to marvel in the rooms latest trick. Realisation comes crashing down on Hermione, that these relatively safe looking platforms were now no longer an area for rest and recovery, but another obstacle altogether. 

_ ‘Well… isn’t this fun. Thank Merlin they’re at least stationa- _’

“Oh_ COME ON!” _ She squealed as the stones start to advance at a stomach lurching speed. 

_ ‘Shit… _ _ ’ _

Hermione only just managed to jump up and heave herself over the first onslaught, her abdominal muscles protesting the sudden movement. Muffled shouts ring out from the other side of Satan’s spire. 

_ ‘Guess they’re having just as much fun as I am…’ _

Surprisingly enough, getting over the drops wasn’t as bad as Hermione had thought. The wooden columns provided a slight reprieve for her arms, allowing her to get across with ease. The platforms however proved to be far less methodical, and more of a flailing limbs whilst praying technique. Blind panic courses through Hermione as she noted the distinct lack of bars above her head, meaning it was a case of jump and launch over the barrelling beams in a less than majestic manner, or get battered. _ Fun, fun. _Not exactly a hard decision, but never in her life did she find herself grateful to get back on the monkey bars. 

‘_Swing down, move forward, legs up, rest. Swing down, move forward, legs up, rest.’ _ This soon became Hermione’s mantra. ‘ _ Is it just me, or are the gaps in the bars getting bigger? Fuck.’ _

Stumbling onto the third platform she looked ahead, relieved to find only one more platform to go, and the most beautiful thing Hermione had ever laid eyes on, the rope ladder that gets her the fuck away from level three. Apparently in moments of utter terror, Hermione had also taken on Ronald’s vocabulary.

The look had cost her, though. Trying to steer her liquified legs into action, Hermione jumped unceremoniously over the oncoming assault but it was too late. The column caught her before she could swing her legs over, hips taking the brunt of the impact, stealing the breath from her lungs. Hermione gripped on for dear life, fully aware that she was now hanging precariously over the course. _ At speed. _Because the sheer drop wasn’t dizzying enough, she had to add flying to that. 

She should be moving, should be trying to get her bearings, but all Hermione could focus on were the ropes of the previous level blurring together, and the plush green grass of the forest ground far, _ far _ below.

_ ‘Gods. Breathe, Hermione. Just breathe.’ _

Her attention was snapped back to the current predicament of being a human propeller, when she heard Ginny’s unmistakable cackle as she rounded the corner. 

“Incoming!”

_ ‘Merlin’s saggy y-fronts, she’ll be dining over this for months.’ _

Someone shouted a curse from behind as Hermione flew (not something she had ever wanted to do again in her life) past the gleeful redhead making her way up the rope tower. She gasped for air, lungs crushing further against the beam as a body made impact with Hermione’s behind. Hands frantically grabbing her protruding rump before falling away suddenly. She would be mortified at being groped at such a speed had she not been nearly jostled from the column. A flash of long blonde hair enters her peripheral vision before hitting the ropes below. 

_ Sweet Circe. _ As if Hermione’s arse flying around wasn’t bad enough, shoving Alex off the course with it was downright humiliating. It appeared she had not just failed the obstacle, she had _ become _ the obstacle.

_ ‘That’s right, this tower now comes with it’s very own butt launcher, you’re welcome folks.’ _

Hermione shouted an apology to the poor girl, now untangling various limbs from what she was sure was a very uncomfortable landing. Thank Godric it wasn’t one of the guys, Hermione wasn’t sure she could have recovered from that. A crown of dark brown hair emerged from the level below, only to shoot back down with a squeal upon seeing Hermione’s flailing form, smart girl. 

Pushing up slightly, Hermione shakily navigates her clammy left hand towards the base of the column. Realising any attempts to dig out her wand would be futile at this stage, she had no choice but to cast a wandless Epoximise to glue her hand to the wood and pray it’s strong enough to hold her weight, uncaring about possibly tearing her skin in the process at this point. After a few wobbly attempts, Hermione was finally able to pull herself up to straddle the column, doing the same with her right hand on the opposite side to keep some form of balance, which is just as well, as a fresh wave of nausea hit, the blood draining back from her head to her lower extremities and Hermione’s hands become the centre point of attention as she attempted to keep herself grounded. 

The ladder Hermione was originally aiming for came into view up ahead, ignoring the latest bout of nausea she dragged her left knee up, then her right, and through some miracle her feet follow, performing the most intense crouch of Hermione’s life. Practically yelling a _ finite _ at her glued hands, she launched forwards, grappling the thick ropes above, shoulders screaming whilst she hauled herself up until she could reach the first rung with her foot. The level floor finally greets her as she scrambled over the lip. The cool stone had her limp limbed body oozing, practically hugging the dusty ground. Hermione couldn’t find it in herself to care, she could cry from the glorious relief.

A flat expanse is all Hermione can see from her starfish position, that and Ginny (still laughing) making her way to the centre of the platform where a set of tall stone spiral steps connected to the looming spire above. 

_ ‘Bitch doesn’t even look tired _.’

Perhaps it was extremely naïve of Hermione to think a tower of this size wouldn’t involve so much climbing, and yet, consider her astounded. 

_ ‘You will _ crawl _ if you have to. You did _ not _ come this far to lose now. You’ve faced worse than a set of sodding steps, get moving.’ _

Forcing herself up, she took a few wobbly steps forward, thankful that she had more strength in them than her arms. Only, when Ginny is a split second from the steps, a golden sheen blasts up from the edges of the level, shooting skyward, arching to meet at the very top of the spire. Hermione knew that glow all too well, she had cast it many times, but why the hell would they need such a strong shield charm? 

A deep rumbling vibration rakes through the ground, a cool wind that Hermione would usually welcome right about now, terrified her as if they had just been shoved into a wind turbine.

_ ‘Sweet baby Merlin what is happening. _’

“Uh… Gin?” She noted her friend’s eyes widen astronomically before Hermione dropped to her knees, the floor literally falling away beneath her feet and smaller stone platforms break away from their original place. Ginny shrieked as the spiral stairs also broke apart, launching her off the side and onto a platform similar to the one Hermione was so desperately clinging to. She watched in horror as the entire stairwell breaks off into smaller chunks of debris, and then fly around the level aimlessly, joining the platforms she and Ginny were huddled over. The speed of some of these platforms was alarming, but surely even this room wouldn’t allow for any collisions… _ right? _

As if on cue her question was abruptly answered when two chunks of stairs came barrelling into the side of a platform, not breaking it but sending it spinning off in the opposite direction.

Sounds of utter pandemonium rose from the stands, but Hermione couldn't tear her eyes away from the stone catapults throwing themselves around, not just from the side but from below and above too she noticed with no small amount of terror. 

_ ‘Oh this is bad. This is really _ fucking _ bad _.’

“There is no way we are making it to the top of that spire without magic.” Ginny all but screamed over the crashing rock. “It’s fucking suicide without!” 

_ ‘No need to tell me twice.’ _

But before Hermione even had time to grab her wand from it’s holster, the platform lurched left and upwards at a sickening speed, straight at the flightpath of a set of steps going in the opposite direction. Gritting her teeth she muttered a quick prayer and dove off the ledge, airborne for 3 heart jerking seconds before connecting with a large platform to the left of the oncoming collision. Hermione didn’t allow herself to stop and think before working her legs into overdrive and sprinting to the end, leaping onto a step circling closely by the base of the now levitating spire. This step, however, was not as calm as originally expected and lurches as she made impact, sending her half off the edge. Wildly grabbing for any hold, Hermione managed to grasp a jagged piece of stone at the very edge, legs dangling limply, having nothing hold onto as the platform lurched again. She searched around frantically for a safer section to jump to. A slower platform emerged from across the way, flying in Hermione’s direction, however her throat tightens upon realising the fair drop. 

‘_Shit, this is going to hurt _.’ Taking a deep breath she released her cramping fingers. 

“HERMIONE!” She snapped her head in the direction of the scream, fumbling for her wand as her body hurtled towards the intended section, but it was too late. She saw it happen before she felt it, another platform Hermione had not seen until now, slammed straight into her side. The pain was immediate, a fire lashing wildly throughout her torso, visioning darkening. Hermione heard someone screaming, a few shouts echo in the haze, but the rush of the welcome cool air was too strong to make out the words. 

A sudden bite of pain met her ankle before her entire body hit the ground, air tearing from her already battered lungs in one swift hit. There was a _ crack _ loud enough to burst Hermione’s eardrums, but she couldn’t focus on anything besides the daggers in her lungs, each ragged inhale only breathing life to the inferno, only faintly aware of the warmth oozing through her hair.

_ ‘Don’t breathe. Don’t… breathe.’ _


	5. Chapter 5

A rancid odor assaulted Hermione’s nose, jolting her into consciousness. Cool hands gripped her shoulders to keep her lying flat; the surface now a lot more comfortable than the stone landing. The familiar scent of medicinal potions was undeniable, someone had managed to get Hermione to the hospital wing, and it didn’t take long to guess who by the hushed bickering in the background.** **  
** **

“I _ told _ you what happened, not that it’s any of your business!” ** **  
** **

Godric’s balls Gin, Hermione really hoped that wasn’t Madam Pomfrey she was talking to. She tried to turn, tried to reach her but instead cried out as the sudden movement sends a ripple of pain through her torso. ** **  
** **

But Madam Pomfrey didn’t sound affronted in the slightest as she assessed Hermione’s wounds. “Miss Granger, can you open your eyes for me?” She peeked open a heavy lid but it hurt, and Hermione couldn’t make sense of anything as white and gold ribbons swam in the blurry dim of the ward. ** **  
** **

“She’s come round Miss Weasley, best you go back to your dormitory before your curfew is up.”** **  
** **

“_ What?! _ I can’t leave her!” ** **  
** **

“You’ve done all you can, she’ll sleep off the worst of it whilst the potions do their job. She’ll be ok.”** **  
** **

_ Ok? _ Hermione felt a lot of things besides the ripples of pain shooting through her body; frustrated, broken, humiliated, disappointed… _ ‘ok’ _ was certainly not one of them. ** **  
** **

“Fine.” There was a long pause as Madam Pomfrey started whispering incantations over her throbbing ribs, but Ginny’s voice now lowered to barely more than a threatening whisper. “Look after her.”** **  
** **

Look after her? They were in the bloody hospital wing for Merlin’s sake, what an odd demand. A clearing of throat was all Hermione could hear before a different bottle was brought to her lips, the stench making Hermione retreat painfully, clamping over her mouth to smother the gag.** **  
** **

“I need you to hold her steady.” Who was she talking to? Was Ginny still here?** **  
** **

A second pair of strong hands grabbed Hermione’s forearms and gently prized them away from her mouth, pinning them down on the bed. Panic roiled through Hermione as her senses were yet again overwhelmed by the foul liquid. “It’s just Skele-Gro Miss Granger, you have two broken ribs so this may hurt a little, but it’s laced with a sleeping draft so you will be asleep in a matter of minutes.”** **  
** **

This time when the bottle touched her lips, Hermione didn’t fight it, but couldn’t help the gag when the vile, smoky liquid entered her mouth, spewing the contents down her chin and neck. ** **  
** **

_ ‘No, no, no. _ Nope _ . Don’t like that.’ _ ** **  
** **

Hermione managed to get three mouthfuls down before the burning started, like someone had poured molten fire whiskey down her throat, straight into her stomach. Writhing against the sensation of a million splinters stabbing her ribs from the inside out, her legs thrashed wildly against the bed. A faint grunt sounds from beside her as the hands on Hermione’s arms tighten their hold. The minutes feel like an age until the internal onslaught ebbs away and drowsiness settles over her from head to toe. Hot tears spill town her cheeks at the relief, but as her arms are released, Hermione reached out blindly for their hand, the cool touch refreshing against her burning skin. ** **  
** **

Cracking open an eye, Hermione could only catch a glimpse of the long, pale fingers she cradled before the lights return, dancing wildly through her vision. Vague recognition entered her drug addled mind, but she knew it was just a trick. “Must be… dreaming.”** **  
** **

But she didn’t hear their answer, didn’t see the panicked grey eyes settle over their joined hands. Didn’t see their lips tug into a secretive smile, as the room faded to black.** **  
** **

Hermione didn’t feel their hand squeeze hers.

** **

*******

The sounds of gentle bubbling and clinking of glass arose from Hermione’s subconscious, mollifying her aching limbs and torso. Hermione thought it strange; waking up to the undeniable sounds and aromas of potions filling the air, a blissful sound indeed, but that made little sense. She was in the hospital wing when she succumbed to a peaceful slumber, not a potions lab, so therefore she must still be dreaming. Although right now Hermione couldn’t care less where she was, as long as she never had to leave the confines of this pillowy cocoon. ** **  
** **

“Ah, she’s finally awake!”** **  
** **

Heart jolting to a frantic beat, Hermione’s eyes snapped open to reveal the familiar ceiling of the faintly lit hospital wing, the chinking of vials and steady stream of bubbling liquid continues to surround the room.** **  
** **

_ ‘It can’t be.’ _ ** **  
** **

“Thought you would never stop snoring. Seriously, Madam Pomfrey nearly had a fit when she realised I had silenced you.”** **  
** **

_ ‘Not dreaming then…’ _ ** **  
** **

So slowly, Hermione turned her head in the direction of that too familiar voice, not daring to believe it. But low and behold there he was, looking all kinds of tempting, out of uniform and in black jeans and a dark blue sweatshirt, sleeves rolled up and hair perfectly mussed- standing at a table next to her bed, pouring potions into neatly labelled vials. He grinned when his attention turns to Hermione, clearly noting her confusion. She outwardly groaned and went back to staring at the ceiling. What the hell is happening?** **  
** **

“I do love making a girl moan when they wake up.” He chuckled. “And I didn’t even have to do anything.”** **  
** **

She turned back to him, scowl firmly planted. He gave her a wink and Hermione tried not to melt on the spot. “What are you doing here, Malfoy?” She coughed at the rawness in her voice, had she been screaming?** **  
** **

“Making some pain relief potions,” he replied nonchalantly. ** **  
** **

“I can see that. _ Why? _ ” ** **  
** **

“Because apparently we’re in need of some.” He raises a brow in her direction but she ignored his silent question. Hermione don’t even know how the hell she’s to explain this to Madam Pomfrey, let alone Malfoy. ** **  
** **

“But why are _ you _ making them, isn’t that Madam Pomfrey’s job?” ** **  
** **

For a second he looked slightly uneasy, scooping out another ladle of the potion. But if he was going to respond it was cut short by Madam Pomfrey emerging from her office, so she tucked that question away for later.** **  
** **

“Thought I heard you. How are you feeling?” ** **  
** **

“A lot better, thank you.” And it was true, she _ did _ feel better but more than anything she wanted to get out of here and away from Malfoy’s assessing gaze. There were many times Hermione had fantasised about waking up to the stupidly handsome blond, not that she would admit that aloud of course, but looking like a sweaty bruised mess, one that apparently snored no less, was not how she had imagined it happening. _ Not. At. All. _ Hermione sat up to prove she had enough strength back, trying not to show the wince as her ribs screamed from the movement. “Can I go back to the tower now?” ** **  
** **

“Not so fast, I need to make sure of a few things first.” Hermione dejectedly sinks back on the bed, ignoring the chuckle from her right.** **  
** **

The healer performed a few quick tests before gently prodding her ribs. Hermione tried her best to hold in a cry, but the more pressure she put on her throbbing side, the harder it is to contain the agonising shriek. Malfoy had to put his Seeker reflexes to use, nearly dropping the full bottle he was holding. Breaking ribs _ hurt. _ ** **  
** **

“The bones are mended but you are left severely bruised I’m afraid, I’ll give you a more potent pain potion, however, I need you to eat first. You suffered quite the bump to the head when you landed, and this particular brew can cause some confusion and mild hallucinations if given on an empty stomach.”** **  
** **

_ Joyful. _ ** **  
** **

A few minutes of awkward silence later and Madam Pomfrey returned with some piping hot chicken soup and a hunk of crusty bread, Hermione’s stomach nearly does a backflip at the sight. She set two vials down on the bedside table, pointing to the pain potion to take after dinner and the dreamless sleep as she gets into bed. ** **  
** **

“Mr. Malfoy can escort you back to your common room once you’ve finished eating, come and see me in the morning if the pain is still there.”** **  
** **

“What?! No- I don’t need an escort thank you.”** **  
** **

She turned to Hermione with her eyebrows raised, Hermione also shocked at talking back to a member of staff, but she was desperate. “I am not allowing you to walk all the way to the seventh floor under the influence of pain potion after having broken your ribs, strained your ankle _ and _ cut your head open, by yourself.” Her tone held no room for argument so Hermione begrudgingly nodded, practically inhaling her soup and trying not to notice the twitch on Malfoy’s lips, or the way he bites it when concentrating. ** **  
** **

When he goes to the store room with his fresh batch of pain potion, Hermione hastily chugged the vial Madam Pomfrey indicated, grabbed the dreamless sleep and threw herself out of bed. Her legs stumble heavily but she managed to recover and make a beeline for the exit, wanting to get as far as she could before Malfoy had to again witness the hot mess that is Hermione Jean Granger. ** **  
** **

Not that she got far. A wave of dizziness washed over and she stumbled forward, leaning against the cool stone window ledge down one of the first floor corridors. The frigid window pane becomes a soothing embrace to her forehead as her body battles to stay upright. It appeared Madam Pomfrey wasn’t playing around with this particular batch of pain tonic. The burn in Hermione’s side from the Healers prodding now turning to a dull ache, but the rest of her body felt like goo and unable to hold herself up any longer, she slid down the wall until her knees hit the floor. Stretching her arms out on either side, she marvelled at her wobbly limbs, snorting whilst waving them wildly from side to side.** **  
** **

“Jelly on a plate, jelly on a plate,

wibble wobble, wibble wobble,

jelly on a plaaaaaate.”** **  
** **

A full cackle bursts forth, followed by a series of snorts and Hermione couldn’t stop the tears streaming down her face, ribs protested every full breath of air she sucked in. What the hell is happening?** **  
** **

_ Could you suffocate from laughing? _ ** **  
** **

She fell silent upon seeing Malfoy leaning against the opposite wall with his arms crossed. His eyes hard on her own, but she could see the slight twitch of his lips concealing his laughter. ** **  
** **

“You know, I’m trying my hardest not to be offended, Granger.”** **  
** **

“Why did you come after me? I won’t tell Madam Pomfrey that you skipped out on babysitting duty.” Hermione replied, vaguely aware that she was still giggling.** **  
** **

“I didn’t _ skip _ out of anything Granger, you bolted!” ** **  
** **

“Semantics.” She waved away his oncoming retort. “I’m giving you a free pass here, Malfoy.” And yet he didn’t budge, didn’t do anything except raise a brow.** **  
** **

Hermione clasped her hands against her chest in a dramatic show. “Doth mine eyes deceive me? A Serpent willing to leave the sanctuary of his dark, mysterious dungeon, to chaperone me- a lonely Lion- to the farthest end of the castle and brave the feline’s den? To take mine hand and lead me to the highest room of the tallest tower, hath the world truly gone mad?” She threw him a wink when a smile broke his formidable stare. “I could be a fuckin’ poet.”** **  
** **

Rolling his eyes with a laugh, he moved off the wall and sauntered forward. “Well I don’t really fancy the she Weasel on my case if she finds out that you came back by yourself in this state.”** **  
** **

“Ginny wouldn’t know you were there in the first place…” Hermione tried to argue but trailed off when she looked at the hand he was now offering. Remembering the last thing that happened before the first round of potions took hold. Those fingers, she had seen them, clutched them for dear life in her vision, but he hadn’t been there… Except he had been when she woke up. ** **  
** **

_ “Look after her.” Ginny had hissed. _ ** **  
** **

And that realisation just made everything ten times more mortifying. “It wasn’t a dream.” Hermione whispered to herself, still staring at his outstretched hands. Malfoy just grinned and leaned down to grab her hands instead, hoisting her gently to my feet. It takes a few minutes of steady breathing for the dizziness to dissipate before she released herself from his too tempting warmth. Murmuring thanks, Hermione started walking to the first set of stairs, eyes pinned to the floor. ** **  
** **

He chuckled when she stumbled into him on the first moving staircase, one arm shooting out around her waist to steady her. “Easy, Granger. I don’t know what I get up to in your dreams, but I generally prefer my women lucid.” He winks as Hermione stared at him incredulously, trying to ignore the blissful warmth of his hands around her waist. ** **  
** **

“Prick.” ** **  
** **

‘_ Please don’t let me go. Ever.’ _ ** **  
** **

“Clearly _I’m_ the lucid one here if that’s what you think! I’m hardly the most stable on my feet right now.”****  
****

“Ah yes, wouldn’t want you to fall off the stairs.. _ again. _ ” He whispered in her ear. ** **  
** **

“What?” ** **  
** **

“I spoke to Ginny, remember? Honestly, Granger. I’d have thought you had a little more coordination than that, what floor were you on anyway?”** **  
** **

“Oh. I uh…” Falling off the moving staircase? Was she _ trying _ to make her look like an absolute tit? _ “ _ I can’t remember, to be honest.” Malfoy hummed in thought, smiling back as if she had just confirmed some naughty little secret. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Glad you find this oh so amusing because I am fucking dying over here. _ ’ ** **  
** **

“Honestly after all these years I’m surprised you aren’t used to them by now…”** **  
** **

“Speaking of surprising, you never answered my question before.” Hermione decided it best to move away from this dangerous topic, not until after she beat Ginny’s arse for doing this to her. “About why you were helping Madam Pomfrey. Were you in detention?”** **  
** **

Malfoy sighed, stopping her from walking into the wall as they exit the stairs to the second level. “I guess you could say that.”** **  
** **

“UH OHHHHHH! Was someone naughty? _ Tut tut _ . What did’ja do, I need deets!” ** **  
** **

_ ‘Deets? Good Godric what was in this potion?’ _ ** **  
** **

Malfoy groaned, shaking his head then mumbling, “It’s my… community service, if you will.” Hermione stopped short and gaped at him, lost for words, but he avoids eye contact, pulling her forward to continue walking. “McGonagall agreed that I could come back if I put my skills to use and help out. So I spend a couple of evenings a week brewing various potions for the Med Ward.” ** **  
** **

It’s true that many people were sceptical about certain students being allowed to return to Hogwarts after the war. Hermione had never tried to put herself in Malfoy’s shoes, not because she didn’t understand or care, but simply because she had been witness to one afternoon in Malfoy manor and that was enough to give her nightmares for life. Having to live there and witness such horrors on a daily basis, unable to escape? Hermione wondered if that had been her childhood and young adult life, would she have been much different? Would anyone?** **  
** **

Hermione silently studied Malfoy’s tense expression, yes, bad things had happened in these very walls, and yes, Malfoy had played a part, but Hermione wasn’t so innocent either. She had trapped an animagi in a glass jar for _ weeks _ , obliviated a death eater, even posed as Malfoy’s aunt and broken in _ and out _ of Gringotts, on the back of a bloody Dragon. Harry had used not one but two unforgivable curses in the last couple of years. Not to mention the dark curse he carelessly threw at Malfoy in their sixth year. The issue now wasn’t what had been done, because the war was over, there was nothing that could be changed, but there was a chance to heal, a chance to live as who they wanted to be, who they truly are. It’s their actions now that make the difference. ** **  
** **

_ ‘If the Headmistress wanted community service they should have just asked him to parade around the school topless after Quidditch practice, that’s all the community service we need. ‘Wham bam thank you mam’ _ Mission sploosh accomplished _ .’ _ ** **  
** **

“Well you always were very good at Potions, and I for one am glad for the extra pain relief!” His face lost the tense lines, looking at her in almost disbelief. Hermione moved to squeeze his arm in reassurance but her clumsy arse ended up falling into his side. She’s about to apologise but he only pulls her in closer.** **  
** **

“I appreciate the compliment, Granger.” He chuckled, grinning down at her. “I never knew you would be _ that _ appreciative of my talents.” Hermione wasn’t sure why he found her comment so amusing but she was definitely missing something, what had she said again? It was a few minutes before he regained his usual cool demeanour, breaking my train of thought. “It’s considered rude to stare, you know.” He teased, flicking her nose. ** **  
** **

“Ha! You’re one to talk.” His eyebrows raise innocently. “Or have you forgotten your wandering eyes at breakfast the other day?” Malfoy narrows his eyes at her before looking forward.** **  
** **

“My apologies if you somehow thought I was checking you out. Although there was a great number of wandering eyes on your chosen Muggle attire.”** **  
** **

“Oh no I wasn’t talking about me, Malfoy.”** **  
** **

“Well then you’ve definitely lost me.” Fine. If that’s how he wants to play this… ** **  
** **

“Huh. So you weren’t checking out Neville Longbottom’s tight bottom then?” ** **  
** **

“Absolutely not! Maybe we should turn around, I think you might have done a bit more damage to that brain of yours today, Granger.” ** **  
** **

“Did you know your nostrils flare ever so slightly when you lie? It’s quite adorable really.” Hermione’s statement was met with silence from the Slytherin, a muscle feathered in his jaw as he’s clearly fighting to keep the cool mask of indifference. ** **  
** **

“I could put in a good word for you, if you like? You never know what kind of things he could be into.” ** **  
** **

That did it. Quick as a flash, Malfoy’s arms trapped Hermione around her middle, backing her up against the wall, his eyes are hard on her but there’s a playful gleam to them. He’s close. So close, and Hermione didn’t know what to focus on first; his hands gripping her hips, thumbs circling in a gentle caress, or how she could feel his words as well as hear them, his breath leaving deliciously warm tingles on her cheek.** **  
** **

“I guarantee if you do that, you will regret it.” ** **  
** **

“Will I now? And here’s me thinking that’s what you might have wanted…”** **  
** **

“Don’t make me prove just how wrong you are, Granger.” Gods above, that voice. Hermione found herself wanting to be tied down and have him ravish her with his words alone.** **  
** **

_ ‘Yessss do it, show me how wrong I am.’ _ ** **  
** **

“Is that a threat?” Hermione’s voice wavered and she didn’t even care how pathetic she sounded.** **  
** **

“No Granger, that’s a promise.” Her stomach lurched, breathing turning erratic. Hermione is faintly aware that she shouldn’t be showing just how affected she is by his words but it’s impossible when he’s pressed so close to her. ** **  
** **

“Hmm, I do like a man who honours his word.” Just when she thinks it’s finally time for her seven minutes in Malfoy heaven, and Merlin is she ready for it, he chuckles and steps back, leaving her reeling. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Prick _ . _ ’ _ ** **  
** **

Grabbing her arm, Malfoy continued to walk as if nothing had even happened, and it takes Hermione a couple of floors to stop internally sulking. By the time they reach the sixth floor, she stumbled again, pausing to catch her breath. Why are there so many bloody stairs to the tower?** **  
** **

“Here, let me take that before you smash it.” He motions towards the vial of dreamless sleep potion that she nearly dropped on her latest trip. “That’s quite a large dose she’s given you, I’m guessing you’ll be out of classes tomorrow.” Malfoy had to force it from her clutches when her grip tightened in panic. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Bollocks, what have I done, I can’t miss any classes, our N.E.W.T exams start next month! I’m going to fail.’ _ ** **  
** **

Malfoy squeezed her shoulder when he finally freed the vial, tucking it away in his back pocket. “Would you like me to copy my notes for you?” His voice is so gentle it startles Hermione. She doesn’t think she’d ever heard him be so… _ sweet? _ ** **  
** **

Why _ was _ he being so sweet? And gods, the way he’s looking at her, there were no signs of their usual hardness or mocking, just genuine kindness. Hermione wished everyone could see what she saw, yes he may still be a typical Malfoy from time to time but this year it was like meeting him for the first time. Although, she wouldn’t want every other girl in Hogwarts to appreciate this Malfoy the way she did. He has enough hormonally crazed fan girls as it is, did she even stand a chance? ** **  
** **

_ ‘Oh brilliant, and now he’s releasing that sinful smile.’ Hermione sighed at the sight. ‘What I wouldn’t do with those lips.’ _ ** **  
** **

Malfoy clears his throat, drawing Hermione out of her reverie. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Shit, where was I? Oh right, he asked a question… what did he ask again? _ ** **  
** **

“I said, would you like me to make a copy of my notes for you?” ** **  
** **

_ ‘Right! Thank you-’ _ ** **  
** **

Hermione scrambled away from him quicker than a devils snare exposed to sunlight , slapping a hand over her mouth. ‘_ Did he just hear all of that?’ _ His answering grin is terrifying, and Hermione is pretty sure she’s hyperventilating now. ** **  
** **

_ “You can read my mind!” _ She screeched at him. ** **  
** **

He barks out a laugh, “You should really be more careful with your thoughts, love.”** **  
** **

_ “Have you been reading them this whole time?!” _ ** **  
** **

_ Oh god, ok, how’s the best way to block out my thoughts? Shit, think woman. Think! Aha! _ ** **  
** **

_ “I woke up today with this feeling _  
_That better things are coming my way,_  
_And if the sunshine has a meaning  
_ _Telling me not to let things get in my way…” _

Hermione looked back to find Malfoy rooted to the spot, blinking at her. Just blinking. Obviously not expecting her masterful plan. ** **  
** **

_ ‘The fool thinks he can thwart us with mind games? No siree.’ _ ** **  
** **

Malfoy bit his lip, fighting a grin as if _ she's _ the one who’s gone mad. “Granger, what-” 

_ “When the rainy days are dying_  
_Gotta keep on, keep on trying  
_ _All the bees and birds are flying- ahh ahhh ahh,” _

Now dancing through the corridor as they make it to the seventh floor landing, Hermione tried to put as much distance from herself and Malfoy as possible. It seems as soon as he touches her she acts like a complete and utter idiot, and she couldn't have that.

_“Never let go, gotta hold on in_  
_Non-stop ‘til the break of dawnin’  
_ _Keep on movin’ don’t stop rockin’ ahh ahhh ahh.” _

“What are you doing?” Hermione could hear the humour in his voice but she didn’t turn to look, instead deciding that now would be a _ great _ time to start pirouetting, because dancing also helps deter mind readers right? _ Yes _ . ** **  
** **

_ ‘Laugh all you want pretty boy.’ _ ** **  
** **

“Blocking my thoughts! _Duh._ _GET ON UP, WHEN YOU’RE DOWN BABY, TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND.”_****  
****

She stopped in her tracks by a few angry outcries from above. Hermione mumbled a quick apology to the somewhat angry portraits. Honestly, didn’t they appreciate the arts? As they turned the corner she lowered her voice to a more appropriate pitch, continuing her impressive routine.

_ “I know it’s not much, but it’s ok  
_ _Keep on moving anyway.” _

But Hermione’s feet turn to lead. And there was the ground, flying up towards her, smacking straight into her face. Hermione heard a muffled _ “shit” _ as she clutched her pounding head, and then his hands are gently prizing hers away, tilting her chin up. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Ooooh two Malfoy’s, to what do I owe this treat?’ _ ** **  
** **

It took a few deep breaths for her mind to focus and she noticed his eyes are tracking her own, assessing. Thoughts of being bed ridden in a lush suite whilst Nurse Malfoy attends to her aches enter her mind. Malfoy shakes his head with an amused sigh, holding his hands out to pull her up off the floor for the second time this evening. “Are you alright?”** **  
** **

Hermione nods, glaring at the carpet. “That was very rude of the floor.”** **  
** **

“I quite agree, I was rather enjoying the show until then.” He chuckled. “Come on, we’re nearly there.”** **  
** **

It took Malfoy a few seconds to realise that she hadn’t followed. He sighed again, walking back to where she’s standing, still glaring at her feet. “What is it now?”** **  
** **

“My feet are angry.”** **  
** **

He blinks. “What?”** **  
** **

“They’re angry at me Malfoy!” He continued to stare at her for a few beats before narrowing his eyes, he opens his mouth to reply but quickly closes it again. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Urgh, Men. Do they need _ everything _ explaining to them?’ _ ** **  
** **

“They won’t _ move _ .” She uses a tone that’s usually reserved for Ronald’s stupidity. Hermione tried to lift her left foot to no avail and can’t contain the wail. “Why do they hate me?” ** **  
** **

_ ‘Gods, am I really sobbing over this?’ _ ** **  
** **

Malfoy’s eyes widen and he jumps forward, pulling her against his chest, but that only made Hermione cry harder. They stand like this for a few minutes before he pulls away, grasping her shoulders and leaning down so he’s at her eye line, using his gentle voice again.** **  
** **

“I’m sure they don’t hate you, ok? They’re probably just tired from all that dancing.”** **  
** **

Hermione sniffled and looked away from his gaze. He has a point, maybe she just brought too much rhythm. “That doesn’t help my predicament though does it?” Again, she goes to move her leg forward and topples over, gasping as Malfoy’s strong arms wrap behind her back and under her useless legs, lifting Hermione to his torso. His lips twitch but he focuses on the portrait at the very end of the corridor. ** **  
** **

_ ‘And now I’m fucking sobbing again. Perfect.’ _ ** **  
** **

Hermione ducked her head into his shoulder to avoid him seeing the fire that’s spreading all over her face, trying not to pay any attention to the utterly delectable scent of _ Eau de Malfoy. _ He comes to a stop and she hears the familiar drawl of The Fat Lady. ** **  
** **

“Password?”** **  
** **

Malfoy looked down to Hermione and she whispers in his ear, too comfortable to interact with the formidable portrait. He raises an eyebrow but she just shrugs against him. “I don’t make the passwords.”** **  
** **

“Cockamamie Cockalorum”** **  
** **

Hermione’s cackling as soon as the words are out of his mouth, and he sighs heavily. The Fat lady levels a look at both of them, her tone displeased. “Try again.”** **  
** **

“Bumfuzzle. No? Huh, Flibbertigibbet! Snollygoster?…” Each of her answers bringing a new level of ire to the woman’s eyes. Hermione gasps, smacking her thigh. “_ Nincompoop.” _ ** **  
** **

“_Circe’s tits _ , Granger.” Malfoy mutters. ** **  
** **

“No, that was the last months.”** **  
** **

Malfoy snorted a laugh, turning his head into the crook of my neck, as he tries to hide from the wrath of The Fat lady behind her wild curls. She turns on her heel and starts to walk away from them, not caring at all if they have to sleep in the corridor. ** **  
** **

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, come back!” The Fat Lady turned her head to glare at them, her expression saying _ ‘One last try.” _ ** **  
** **

“SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS.” ** **  
** **

“Fucking hell, Granger!”** **  
** **

Hermione half topples out of Malfoy’s arms from laughing, quick reflexes catching her before she fell to the ground for the third time. ** **  
** **

_ “Weeeeeeeeee!” _ Malfoy was now bent over, arms still circling her waist with Hermione swinging wildly between his legs, looking up at his half exasperated half amused expression. He manages a few bangs on the portrait, noticing The Fat Lady had well and truly abandoned them now. ** **  
** **

The door swung open and Hermione lifted her head back to see a pair of Holyhead Harpies socks, why were they on the ceiling? “Giiiiiiiiiin.” ** **  
** **

“What the hell- why is she like that?” ** **  
** **

_ ‘Like what?’ _ ** **  
** **

Malfoy grunts from Hermione’s continued swinging, lifting his head up to address Ginny, his voice and expression deadpan. “Her feet are angry-” ** **  
** **

Hermione grabbed his face in shock, bringing his attention back to them. _ “You heard them too?” _ She gasped. ** **  
** **

“-And also a very strong pain potion.” He finishes, hauling the Witch to her leaden feet but she doesn’t let go of him. Ginny pressed her lips together and nods in understanding, eyes dancing back and forth between the two of them. ** **  
** **

“Come on Hermione, let’s get you to bed.” Ginny moved forward to take her weight from Malfoy and she whines like a lost puppy when he finally let her go. ** **  
** **

“Here,” he says, handing over the sleeping potion from his pocket. “Don’t forget to take this before you go to sleep.” He turns to Ginny and Hermione can’t help but imagine for the second time this evening how great he would be in the healer profession. ** **  
** **

_ ‘Nurse Malfoy could lick my wounds any day.’ _ Ginny stilled beside her and Malfoy bit his damn lip again. _ ‘Merlin no one should be that damn sexy.’ _ ** **  
** **

“She will be out of it for most of tomorrow, I recommend saving her some food as she will no doubt be starving.” His voice wavers as he tried to contain his laughter.** **  
** **

_ ‘Mmmm I _ am _ rather ravenous for some Malfoy cock-’ _ ** **  
** **

“OWW! What the_ hell _ Gin?” ** **  
** **

Hermione whipped her head round to her unnecessarily violent friend, clutching the arm she just pinched the fuck out of. Ginny’s eyes are wider than Hermione had ever seen, flitting back and forth between herself and Malfoy, as if she’s trying to indicate something. Honestly, she hadn’t even said a word! Just lost in her thoughts of- _ fuck. _ Malfoy cleared his throat and when Hermione turned to him she suddenly wanted the ground to swallow her whole. He’d heard every fucking thought. ** **  
** **

_ ‘OH FUCK.’ _ ** **  
** **

“_Start singing!” _ She frantically whispered in Ginny’s ear. ** **  
** **

“Singing? Wha-”** **  
** **

“He’s a mind reader, Gin! It stops him hearing all our darkessst sssecretsss.” Hermione rounded on him, prodding his chest. “Sssneaky little Snaaaaaake.” Elbowing Ginny in the side, Hermione whispered, “but if we’re betting, I don’t think he’s that little. HAH!”** **  
** **

“Merlin’s cock!” Ginny’s grip tightened almost painfully as she dragged Hermione through the portrait hole. “Night Malfoy.” ** **  
** **

“Ginny.” He nods. “Sweet dreams, Granger.” He’s wearing the most devilish grin as Ginny kicks the portrait door shut in his face, and Hermione was too mortified to even consider what just happened as they both slumped to the floor. Looking to Ginny, it took all of five seconds for them to burst into laughter, because right now it’s laugh or cry. ** **  
** **

There’s a shuffle of feet from the stairway before a familiar laugh greets us. Hermione looked up to see Fay striding over, offering her hand. This was starting to become a habit today. 

Between the two of them, they managed to haul Hermione’s dead weight up the stairs and into bed. ** **  
** **

“Our cover story for tomorrow is that we were out on a run and got accosted by the Whomping Willow, it was the only excuse I could think of that explained the sight of both of us- That's what I told Madam Pomfrey. Although I don’t know whether to be pleased or offended that she actually believed me.” Ginny grumbled. “Luckily no one saw me levitate you until we were on the first floor.”** **  
** **

“Then why did Malfoy think I fell off the stairs?” ** **  
** **

“What? He was there when I told Pomfrey, kept asking me how we were stupid enough to run into a giant, angry tree.”** **  
** **

“Noooo. He said you told him I fell off the moving staircase…” ** **  
** **

Ginny grimaced, rubbing her forehead. “That sneaky fucker.” It took a few minutes for Hermione to even realise his trick, they would have to be extra careful to avoid attention from now on, given Hermione had basically confirmed that they were up to something. When Ginny hands Hermione the dreamless sleep, she chugged it down greedily, wanting the day to be erased from her memory forever. 


	6. Chapter 6

“Let’s do it again,”  
_ “Let’s do it again” _

“Oh yea,”  
_ “Oh yea” _ ** **  
** **

_ “ _ Looking good,”  
"_Looking good” _

“Feeling good,”  
_ “Feeling good” _ ** **  
** **

“Weeeeeee are Gryff-in-dor,”  
"Weeeeeee are Gryff-in-dor” ** **  
** **

“Let the other houses hear our _ mighty _ roaaaar,”  
_ "Let the other houses hear our _ mighty _ roaaaar” _ ** **  
** **

“Mighty mighty mighty mighty mighty roar,”  
_ “Mighty mighty mighty mighty mighty roar” _ ** **  
** **

“Oh yea,”  
_ “Oh yea” _ ** **  
** **

“Sounding good,”  
_ “Sounding good” _ ** **  
** **

“Feeeeeeling good,”  
_ “Feeeeeeling good” _ ** **  
** **

“I get to the arena and what do I see,”  
"_I get to the arena and what do I see” _ ** **  
** **

“The other three houses are fleeing from me,”  
_ “The other three houses are fleeing from me” _ ** **  
** **

“We’re looking good,”  
_ “We’re looking good” _ ** **  
** **

“Like we should,”  
_ “Like we should” _ ** **  
** **

“We’re feeling fierce,”  
_ “We’re feeling fierce” _ ** **  
** **

“The crowd all cheers,”  
_ “The crowd all cheers” _ ** **  
** **

“Cause we are in Gryffindor,”  
_ “Cause we are in Gryffindor” _ ** **  
** **

“Mighty mighty mighty mighty Gryffindor!”  
_ “Mighty mighty mighty mighty Gryffindor!” _ ** **  
** **

Having missed the last week of training, Hermione was more than happy to return to the comfort of their usual track in the Room of Requirement, along with Dean’s singing. She hadn’t yet braved running on the castle grounds and certainly hadn’t gone anywhere near that tower again. Hermione’s ribs were fully healed from their ordeal, however, her dignity was still somewhat recovering. ** **  
** **

Unfortunately, the pain potion Madam Pomfrey had administered _ hadn’t _ relieved her of the horrifying memories from that night. She had woken up in a daze, having slept through all her classes and only just making it down for dinner, thanks to Ginny. Hermione’s hope of slipping in unnoticed in her fragile state was shattered when Dean and Cale bolted from their seats, the former pulling her into a fierce hug and the latter making people move down the bench to make a seat for them. Even with the hall only half full, it still had granted more than a few head turns and whispers. Fay and Neville had assured Hermione that only their classmates knew about her little trip to the hospital wing, but thankfully they were oblivious as to why. But their words gave Hermione little comfort, there was one individual who knew exactly what happened, just not the ‘how’. She hadn’t dared a glance to the table at the far side of the hall, even though she had felt their eyes burning through her already wavering brave front. Instead, Hermione had focused purely on consuming half her entire body weight in beef stew and dumplings, followed by extra helpings of rhubarb crumble. Everyone’s concern was palpable but Hermione was relieved that there wasn’t an ounce of pity thrown her way, just an overwhelming sense of camaraderie, before exhaustion took over and for the second time in less than a day, she was carried back to my dorm- this time via a piggyback, courtesy of Dean. ** **  
** **

_ True to his word, Malfoy had cornered Hermione in the library the next morning, after she had hurried past his table without a second glance. He had followed, sitting across from her and plonking down a small pile of parchment over her Charms essay. _ ** **  
** **

_ “Not avoiding me are you, Granger?” _ ** **  
** **

_ “I would have had to have seen you first to avoid you, Malf-” She stopped her lie short upon perusing the sheets of parchment. Notes from every single class she missed yesterday were laid out before her, in Malfoy’s elegant scrawl. Beautiful, detailed notes. She had never seen anything more glorious, except for the insufferable smirking Slytherin sat before her. Sweet mother of Merlin these notes were detailed enough to rival her own, so lost in her reading, it took Hermione a few seconds to realise he was laughing at her. _ ** **  
** **

_ “Do you need some alone time with those?” He nods to the parchment clutched in her hands, wiggling his eyebrows. Carefully placing the notes to the side, Hermione wondered if she should strangle him or thank him. Was it frowned upon to do both? He shot her a grin when finally she gave him her full attention, cheeks heating furiously. _ ** **  
** **

_ “You’re incorrigible. But thank you for this. I really appreciate it.” Her voice was all over the place, Merlin why was it so hard to talk to him? _ ** **  
** **

_ “You’re welcome. How are you feeling today?” _ ** **  
** **

_ Besides awkward you mean? “Much better, thanks.” He’s staring and Hermione ducked her eyes, too afraid to wonder at what he’s thinking, because what’s racing through her mind in the silence is the horrors of everything she had said... and done, the other night. “I’m sorry for what I… unwittingly put you through.” _ ** **  
** **

_ Malfoy snorted a laugh and Hermione frowned back. “You’re joking right? Granger, I think that was the best night I’ve ever had at Hogwarts. I really should be thanking you, not accepting your apologies.” She grimaced over the fact that her being high is the best thing to happen to him when she was dying all over again at the thought. _ ** **  
** **

_ “I take it back, I’m not sorry at all.” She grumbled, throwing her head in her hands to hide from his amused gaze. He’s enjoying this far too much and Hermione has nothing to tease back in return, which he is no doubt delighting in further. She went back to writing her Charms essay, or trying to at least but it appeared he was staying, but she still couldn’t look up at what she knew would be an insufferable grin. _ ** **  
** **

_ “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re just a touch embarrassed.” _ ** **  
** **

Tosser. _ “Good thing you don’t know any better, then.” She still wasn’t deigning to look at him, willing this conversation to be over already. _ ** **  
** **

_ “Well it has been harder to read you since, you know… you’re no longer shouting your thoughts at me.” Hermione flung her quill straight at his head, not caring if anyone around them witnesses. Gone was the sweet Malfoy from two nights ago, now we’re back to the normal git that she _ still _ somehow can’t get out of her head. _ ** **  
** **

_ He smiled, catching the quill with ease and placed it just out of reach. Rising from his seat, he pointed to his notes. “If you have any questions I’ll be in the Great Hall, I find myself rather…” he started clicking his fingers in thought. “What was the word? Ah, yes, _ ravenous _ .” Images of the common room door shutting on Malfoy, grin spread wide, appears, very similar to the expression he’s wearing now. _ ** **  
** **

‘You _dare_ look at his cock, I mean it, do _not_ look at his cock, do not- _fuck, it’s like it has its own gravitational pull.’_ _Malfoy chuckled before sauntering away, leaving Hermione to stare into the space he just vacated in horrified stupor. Strangling. She had decided on strangling. _****  
****

Everyday since that encounter, more and more flashes of memories had presented themselves at the most inopportune moments. Whether it be walking down the corridor on the seventh floor and having the portraits snickering at her behest, or catching Malfoy’s eye in one of their classes, or at meal times and receiving a far too handsome but knowing grin, resulting in Hermione avoiding eye contact with him for an entire week. ** **  
** **

Ginny had come back a few days after the incident and managed to complete the tower course with Alex. The shimmering golden circle at the top of the spire turned out to be a medallion of sorts, which replaced itself after being taken. An image of their woodland arena with a Lion emerging from the trees was etched into the golden disk, and each medal inscribed with a message. The message was of course, in Latin, because apparently nothing the Room of Requirement gave them was ever easy. Ginny wore hers round her neck, the words _ Qui propter metum vinceret; those who conquer despite fear, _ shining proudly, but kept it out of sight to avoid questions, although Hermione was sure she took extra care to hide it when she was around, but truly Hermione was pleased for her. ** **  
** **

“Roland and Owen got theirs yesterday.” Gin said as they started their fifth and final lap of their cooldown. ** **  
** **

“And not Cale? I thought he would be jumping at the chance to rival Roland’s time” ** **  
** **

“No, he’s waiting.” Well that didn’t sound like him at all. Hermione looked at Ginny questioningly as she has gone silent, weighing up her answer. “He’s waiting for you.” ** **  
** **

“What?- Why? He never mentioned this to me.”** **  
** **

“He said he wants to be the one to go with you. If you want to that is, he won’t ask you… none of us will.”** **  
** **

“So basically he wants to be there in case I fail again.” She sighs. “I don’t need babying Gin, I was caught off guard last time, it _ will not _ happen again.” ** **  
** **

“No, that’s not the reason. And trust me I was in just as much shit as you were, it was always going to be harder for the poor sods who went first.”** **  
** **

“So what _ is _ the reason then?” ** **  
** **

“I think he finds comfort in the fact that you are human, Hermione. He heard all these stories of what you had to do during the war, how brave you were in everything. I think going through this mental and physical challenge with you, is far greater than beating Roland at something they would most likely have done on one of their summer vacations. He wants to be there when you smash it! And share that victory with you. Trust me, Roland actually sulked when Cale told him his plan after he had completed the tower.”** **  
** **

It was still strange for her to hear people actually thought that way about their ‘adventures’ during the war. Hermione hated being classed as a war heroine, guilt thrumming through her veins every time someone referred to her as such. There were other people who suffered just as much if not worse than she had, people who never recovered, who never made it. They were the heroes. Hermione was only remembered most because of being Harry’s friend, but it was never wise to linger on those thoughts too long, they were nothing but destructive if given too much attention. ** **  
** **

“I want to do it again, I _ will _ do it, but I want to get our exams out of the way first.” Her stomach roiled every time she thought about their N.E.W.T’s. They were arriving far too quickly- in no less than two weeks. Hermione had already had to brew her own batch of calming draft this week, there was a reason they were called Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests; the coursework and exam revision were brutal. ** **  
** **

Ginny laughed. “You realise he will be waiting to drag you out of your seat when your final exam comes around.” 

“Maybe I should go into Hogsmeade, stock up on bruise removal paste now your brothers have set up shop there.” ** **  
** **

“Shit, I forgot to say!” Ginny gasped. “The other day at breakfast Malfoy received a letter from my brothers, I thought I was going barmy when I saw their owl but I would recognise the purple envelope anywhere.” ** **  
** **

“Why on earth would Fred and George correspond with Malfoy?”** **  
** **

“My question exactly! And he looked far too happy when he read it, Blaise and Theo too…”** **  
** **

“Maybe he’s put in an order?” What the hell was he doing? Hermione didn’t like the fact that Blaise and Theo were in on whatever scheming Malfoy was up to, although they’d be hard pushed to get whatever it is past McGonagall and Filch. ** **  
** **

“I know my brothers have some cool products, but I don’t know what would garner that kind of reaction from them. Besides, he can’t order the banned products anyway, he would never get them in the castle.”** **  
** **

Hermione came to a dead stop, grabbing Ginny’s arm. She whirled around only just staying upright, looking alarmed at my expression. ** **  
** **

“Gin... the products may be banned now, but at the end of term the school rules are being lifted…”** **  
** **

“What are you saying?”** **  
** **

“I’m saying that the rules state we can bring any magical objects into the games, but they will be inspected by our head of house before being allowed in. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that includes certain banned items by Mr and Mr Weasley…” Ginny’s already pale complexion turned a sickly shade as realisation dawned on her, and on Hermione. They were royally screwed.** **  
** **

“And that fucking ferret has beaten us to it, you really think those products will be allowed in?** **  
** **

“As long as they don’t cause harm or long lasting effects, anything is fair game!” Why hadn’t they thought of this? Hermione was so damn focused on bloody training she had forgotten about the other aspects of the rules. Had the other houses figured it out too? ** **  
** **

“_Shit _ . I wonder how much he’s ordered?” ** **  
** **

“Judging by the bottomless pit that is the Malfoy vaults, I’m guessing a lot.” Hermione replied sourly. Even if they all pulled together, she highly doubted they could match the kind of order Malfoy would place. He could buy the whole damn store and not even blanch at the cost.** **  
** **

“I will _ not _ have my own brother’s inventions used against meee-e-e-e-e! OWW _ FUCK!” _ A bolt of static shock was flung at the both of them, causing their bodies to temporarily spasm like they’d been hooked up to the mains. Ginny’s hair stuck out defiantly, her eyes wide as the luminous orb backed away before circling round and flying at them at breakneck speed. ** **  
** **

“Don’t slack”  
_ “Don’t slack” _ ** **  
** **

“On the track”  
_ “On the track” _ ** **  
** **

“You’ll get zapped”  
_ “You’ll get zapped” _ ** **  
** **

“That’s a fact”  
_ “That’s a fact” _ ** **  
** **

They certainly didn’t need telling twice as the entire group bolted from the track, but Hermione failed to dodge all the static attacks and by the time they made it to the safety of the trees, every muscle and fibre in her body ached.** **  
** **

“We need... to get a letter... out to Fred and George… _ fast _ .” She managed to puff out to Ginny, who nodded in agreement from her bent position beside her, checking her watch. ** **  
** **

“Shit. Let’s go, I’m nearly late for curfew anyway.”** **  
** **

As a group they filed out of the Room of Requirement and onto the dimly lit corridor of the castle, Ginny and Hermione quickly filling Neville, Dean, Fay and Parvati in on our concerns with Malfoy’s potential scheming. Too engrossed in plotting their potential retaliation, they didn’t even notice that they weren’t alone until a throat cleared right in front of them. Hermione jumped out of her skin at the sight of McGonagall shrewdly surveilling the six of them, the Professor’s eyes lingering over Hermione’s head, which she only now realised probably looked far wilder than normal, then darting back and forth between Ginny and I. ** **  
** **

McGonagall closed her eyes before heaving a sigh. “Do I even want to know?”** **  
** **

“Well- uh, we were just getting some exercise in, Professor.” It wasn’t like they were breaking any rules by using the Room of Requirement but McGonagall sometimes had a way of making them feel guilty even when they hadn’t even done anything wrong. One slender eyebrow raised as she again studied her hair, and Hermione involuntarily tucked a few curls behind her ear, only to shock herself again with the remaining static energy from the orb. Brilliant. ** **  
** **

Surprisingly enough, the Headmistress just shook her head and waved us past. Hermione decided not to push their luck further and hastily walked down the corridor, catching just the tiniest hint of pride in the Headmistress’ expression, until she fixed Ginny with a stern look as the redhead tried to sneak past. ** **  
** **

“Not so fast, Miss Weasley.” Ginny groaned quietly beside her and turned towards McGonagall, plastering a look of total innocence on her face. Like that could fool the likes of McGonagall. “You don’t by any chance happen to know the time do you?”** **  
** **

Ginny made a show of glancing at her watch even though she knows full well what time it was. “It’s two minutes to nine, Professor.” There were a few beats of silence as McGonagall assessed her. “I was just heading back to the common room now.”** **  
** **

“Mhmm. And how long does it take you to get back to Gryffindor tower?” Hermione tried to cover her snort with a cough. Apparently the headmistress wasn’t feeling _ that _ lenient this evening. ** **  
** **

Ginny released a resigned sigh. “About 10 minutes, Professor.” ** **  
** **

“Ah, you see my predicament here Miss Weasley. It just so happens that I need some assistance this evening, please follow me.” She left the group muttering under her breath about threatening to turn yet another Weasley into a pocket watch. Ginny mumbled goodnight to the group, trailing behind the Headmistress. ** **  
** **

Once back in the common room Hermione got started on writing a letter to Fred and George. Having filled in the rest of the seventh years on their plans and getting their orders in, Hermione just needed Ginny to take a final look through and add on anything she thinks they could use. The Slytherins may have got the jump on them when it came to funding and finding loopholes, but they hadn’t spent the last six months going through the most gruelling training the castle could throw at them for nothing, and this new piece of information had only strengthened their determination. ** **  
** **

Deciding to take an hour to herself before bed, Hermione grabbed one of the many guilty pleasures she had brought with her; a series of Muggle books about magic, tyranny, war, shapeshifters, and dreamy (but sometimes slightly temperamental) Fae warriors, and settled down in front of the fire with a bar of Honeydukes chocolate. But it’s not long until her peace was interrupted by the shouts of The Fat Lady and a Weasley barrelling into the common room, with a look of fury that could rival her mother. The portrait slammed against the wall before swinging shut, muffling the Fat Lady’s protests. ** **  
** **

“What’s got you all frustrated?” Hermione laughed as Ginny rounded on her as if suddenly realising where she is.** **  
** **

“_Fucking Blaise Zabini!” _ She practically screeches. ** **  
** **

“Wow. I mean, I know he can be arrogant at times but I never thought the Italian stallion would be such a disappointment.” Ginny shot her a look, nostrils practically flaring to the size of golf balls. _ ‘My god she was too easy to wind up when she went full rage mode.’ _ ** **  
** **

_ “ _ They _ knew, _ Hermione!” She kicked off her shoes before pacing the common room, directing her stormy gaze at any of the paintings who were brave enough to challenge her raised voice. “They _ fucking _ knew!” Releasing a sigh, Hermione begrudgingly put down her book, bidding farewell to her literary crush. ** **  
** **

It became apparent that Ginny was going to keep her wondering what the hell has her so riled up, although Hermione had a pretty good guess at who ‘_ they _ ’ were. ** **  
** **

“Knew what, Gin?”** **  
** **

“I followed McGonagall into the Library because Peeves apparently decided to wreak havoc upon the bookcases, when I see Zabini watching the door expectantly with a shit eating grin! The fucker tipped her off! Well, he actually tipped off Filch who then informed McGonagall- but the fact is he’s a prick! A prick who couldn’t stop grinning like a Cheshire cat when I refused to say what I was doing, because my hair looked like I had been out in a fucking thunderstorm, or give him the time of day. But they bloody know, especially if the insufferable smirks from Malfoy and Nott were any indication…” ** **  
** **

“We already knew Malfoy had us, and that’s all because of my blabbermouth, you saw the state of me when Malfoy brought me back here. It was only a matter of time.” _ Oh shit, what else did he tell them? _ ** **  
** **

“Don’t you dare feel guilty over that! He tricked you whilst you were basically high on pain potion, and was anything but sorry about it!” Ginny took a few deep breaths and slumped on the sofa next to Hermione, taking a chunk of chocolate she held out in offer. “When we get into that arena, _ Zabini’s mine.” _


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These final chapters have no Beta, apologies in advance if there are any errors.

(Draco) ** **   
** **

They had been sat down for three fucking hours. To say his arse is numb was the understatement of the century, but it was  _ finally _ over. The last piece of evidence from seven years at Hogwarts, now flying away from his desk and into the hands of the examiner at the front of the hall. The last two weeks had been complete and utter torture; two exams per day, both practical and written and Draco was pretty confident his cognitive functions were now shot. And now they had three blissful days free of classes and exams, not only to recover, but to also prepare for the game on Saturday afternoon. Everything was in motion, so far the twins had come through and supplied everything they would need. Just the thought of Granger’s face alone when their little surprise would be revealed, was enough to keep his spirits up throughout the last two weeks, even if she had gone completely off the radar.  ** **   
** **

Hermione had been distant to say the least since their little reminiscing in the Library nearly a month ago, only catching glimpses of her in the Great Hall when outside of class. She didn’t come out of the castle to run anymore, she didn’t acknowledge Draco in their lessons unless absolutely necessary, choosing to keep her nose firmly planted in her textbooks or over a cauldron. He tried to tell himself that this was Granger; the highest in class, brightest swot of her age, of course she wouldn’t want any distractions before and during exams, and he took comfort in the fact that he wasn’t the only one that she had been aloof with. Draco was, however, expecting some form of reaction when he managed to occupy their precious Room of Requirement for the last three weeks. It was simple really, coercing the seventh and eighth years to alternate shifts in what slowly became their second common room. Getting away from the giggling first years and hormonal teenage drama in the dungeon had been an added bonus. But each time Draco came across the expected wrath of the Gryffindor's, there was nothing, except some vengeful looks, looks full of promise, but no furious run ins, no heated outbursts from Granger that he had envisioned ending with an impassioned meeting of their lips. Nothing, zilch,  _ nada. _ Just silence. And Malfoy’s do not like to be ignored, so naturally Draco planned to change this.  ** **   
** **

The hall started to clear as everyone crammed their way through the double doors and into their new found freedom. Only Granger remained seated a few rows over, staring at the pile of collected papers so intently, looking for all the world like she was trying to add more to her answers by her sheer force of will. Her hands were trembling and Draco had to shake the urge to walk over and take them in his own, not that he could have gotten close enough with the Gryffindor's nearby and that seventh year boy lurking over her excitedly. Spinach? Cress? He don’t know- some kind of fucking vegetable- was offering her his hand. If he really thought he could add Hermione Granger to his list of swooning, puppy eyed fangirls then he would be sorely disappointed. She wouldn’t fall for that kind of ego. Would she? Draco ground his teeth when she burst out in a giggle, practically bounding out of her chair and following her housemates out of the Hall. ** **   
** **

They all seemed exceptionally jovial, even for post exam celebrations, and when Granger turned her head to laugh at something Ginny had said, her eyes caught his and she gave Draco the widest grin he had ever witnessed from her. It’s a good job he was still seated or his knees may have buckled from that look alone, but even though Draco was internally dancing she had  _ finally _ acknowledged him, the gleam of mischief in those chestnut eyes had him feeling just marginally apprehensive. And rightly so, there was no one in the Room of Requirement.  ** **   
** **

_ ‘Bollocks.’ _ ** **   
** **

Theo groaned from his seat beside Draco’s. “I know that look.”  ** **   
** **

“What look?” Blaise says from behind, sauntering over to their tables. ** **   
** **

“The look that means our plans of a relaxing afternoon have just been shattered.” He replied dryly.  ** **   
** **

“They’re-” ** **   
** **

“Don’t you dare say _up to something,_ Malfoy! We’ve been camping out in that bloody room for weeks and there hasn’t been a single clue of evidence to back up that statement.”****  
****

“They don’t look like they are about to do nothing?” He countered, enjoying Theo’s look of despair. ** **   
** **

“Well at least we know where they’re going now, let’s give them a head start.” Blaise chuckled as Theo stood with a dramatic sigh, mumbling about how this better be worth his time.  ** **   
** **

After heading back to the Dungeons to drop their bags off and change out of their robes, the three of them headed straight to the seventh floor landing. It had been about half an hour which hopefully would’ve given them enough time to slip in unnoticed, unless they end up walking into a room that didn’t allow spectators to hide. Saying a silent prayer that they weren’t about to walk into a giant pool full of topless Gryffindor boys, Draco walked by the bare wall asking to find Miss Hermione Granger.  ** **   
** **

An old decorative oak door appeared, vastly different to their usual decorative onyx common room door, but Draco didn’t allow himself to hesitate before walking through, although nothing in the entire world could have prepared his eyes for what was on the other side. It was like they had walked through into another land entirely, Draco couldn’t even see an end to what he knew was a room but it didn’t look physically possible, even  _ with _ magic. The woodland looked ancient, the giant trees lining the clearing impossibly tall. There was a small gap in the trees to the right, where an assortment of logs were positioned by a water table, jackets and towels slung over them haphazardly. But the clearing itself… there were no words.  ** **   
** **

It reminded Draco of a Wizarding water park, except the muddy water was less than inviting and the obstacles looked anything but amusing. They had been doing this voluntarily? There was something to be said for the sanity of any student residing in that tower that’s for sure.  ** **   
** **

Ducking behind the base of a tall oak, Draco observed the bobbing heads making their way around from the other side of the field, flying over a wooden bridge that took them over fast moving rapids running from the treeline through the centre of the makeshift arena. Their pace was brutal and after a few seconds he realised why, as a floating luminous ball flew around wildly, throwing static shocks at the back row of runners if they slowed their pace. But oddly enough they didn’t appear concerned in the slightest, they were actually laughing, as if this wasn’t the most barmy thing in the history of all things, well,  _ barmy! _ ** **   
** **

“What the fuck?” Draco looked over his shoulder. In all the years he’d known Theo, rarely has anything ever shocked him, especially to the extent that he looked like some petrified Tarsier.  ** **   
** **

“Still don’t think they’re up to something?” Draco asks. Blaise pats him on the shoulder, laughing as he joins them by the tree, studying the runners. ** **   
** **

“Are they- are they  _ singing?” _ ** **   
** **

Draco wasn’t sure if singing was the correct term, perhaps more of a shouted chant which he could just about hear from their position as they got closer.  ** **   
** **

“Oh la oh la ehhh”  
_ “Oh la oh la ehhh” _ ** **   
** **

“Run them, run them, run them, make them hurt now,”  
_ “Run them, run them, run them, make them hurt now,” _ ** **   
** **

“I don’t know,”  
_ “I don’t know,” _ ** **   
** **

“What those Snakes know,”  
_ “What those Snakes know,” _ ** **   
** **

“But this here crew,”  
_ “But this here crew,” _ ** **   
** **

“Will come for you,”  
_ “Will come for you,” _ ** **   
** **

“Oh la oh la ehhh,”  
" _ Oh la oh la ehhh,” _ ** **   
** **

“Run them, run them, run them, in the dirt now…”  
_"Run them, run them, run them, in the dirt now…”_****  
****

Theo snorts from behind. “Well isn’t that just  _ charming _ .” ** **   
** **

Sticking behind the treeline, they followed the group heading down a wide path and into another clearing. From their hiding place it wasn’t obvious to see at first, but as the last of the Gryffindor's disappeared from the path, Draco then noticed the obscenity before them.  ** **   
** **

A behemoth tower with varying levels of unwelcoming obstacles stood proudly in the centre, surrounded by a wide moat and stands not dissimilar to their Quidditch pitch encircling the entire area. The third level looked entirely blank of obstacles, so how they were supposed to get to the top was simply unfathomable. At least that’s where Draco  _ thought _ they were aiming for, as he noted the steps on the top platform that lead to a tall spire, the top of which was competing for height with the tallest trees, and in its centre held a glowing gold disc. ** **   
** **

“They can’t be serious.” ** **   
** **

“Surely not- ”  ** **   
** **

“That’s fucking suicide.”  ** **   
** **

The three of them exclaim together, rooted on the spot. Blaise however, was the quickest to recover, casting a disillusionment charm and trailing after the group now situated in the stands. Theo and Draco follow suit, making sure to keep our steps light through the forest ground. Hermione and veggie boy peeled off from the group, each going to a separate bridge before the tower, and Draco practically ran up the steps to sit a few rows behind half of the Gryffindor's, palms clamming up immediately at the thought of watching her do this course.  ** **   
** **

Weasley stood with a grin, holding her wand to her throat. “Granger, Anderson, are you ready?” Her voice echoed around the entire stands and yet he could barely hear it over the thumping of his chest. ** **   
** **

_ ‘Good gods man, get a fucking grip.’ _ ** **   
** **

The two of them nodded frantically, Granger dancing nervously on the balls of her feet but grinning wildly, bending her knees into a running stance.  ** **   
** **

“Three. Two. One… GO!” ** **   
** **

Quick as lightning she was bounding over the bridge, leaping without hesitation onto the wooden obstacles above the deep water below, which apparently weren’t all stationary and yet she tackled them with ease, disappearing from sight within minutes. She was at least half the course ahead of her opponent as she came back into view on the level above, swinging precariously from various ropes before tackling a series of zigzag cargo nets. Gone was tense, overwrought girl too focused on her work. Here was the laid back, wild and apparently conniving girl Draco only caught glimpses of before, but now seeing fully for the first time. And truthfully, it was a little fucking scary.  _ Hot as hell _ , but scary.  ** **   
** **

It wasn’t long before the little speed demon had worked her way up the final rope ladder and onto the empty level with the missing platforms. She jumped up, latching onto bars he hadn’t noticed above her head, and started forward. Blaise inhaled a sharp breath beside him and Draco found that he too, held his own when wooden beams started to extend from the centre stone column hurtling towards Granger and Anderson, who was marginally faster on the bars and making up the gap she had created between them on the other side.  ** **   
** **

Draco’s arse cheeks clenched every damn time she got to a platform, having to run up and jump over each flying hurdle when she ran out of rungs to swing from. When Granger finally hauled herself up the ladder and onto the safety of the final platform, the Gryffindor's started clapping and screaming words of encouragement to her. As if she needed it now, even though all she had left were some stairs and the spire to climb.  ** **   
** **

“I don’t think I can watch this again.” Squealed a brown haired seventh year who had gone deathly pale, clinging on to Patil’s arm. ** **   
** **

“Why not?” She asked. ** **   
** **

“This is where she fell last time.” Fay replied for the girl who had her face turned into Parvati’s arm. “Eilidh saw everything. I must admit, this is the worst part to watch.” Fay’s complexion was nearly at the same level as Eilidh’s as she turned her attention back to Granger.  ** **   
** **

_ What the hell were they on about? _ ** **   
** **

“She’ll be fine!” Ginny shouted over the applause, “she’s faced far worse than this, remember.” ** **   
** **

A golden light burst from the edge of the platform, flying up to create a luminescent barrier, forming a dome round the whole level and spire. Draco didn’t get a chance to question the need for such a strong shield before a rumbling of stone shook the entire tower. His arse flew straight out of his seat when the platform Granger was standing on starts to break apart completely, throwing her forward but she managed to keep her balance as she crouched down, assessing her newest suicidal obstacle. Great chunks of stone from the floor and the staircase were now flying around aimlessly, bouncing off the shield and crashing into each other, but still she kept a steady focus surfing her platform until breaking into a run and launching herself onto a much longer rock. Granger didn’t stop, once her feet are firmly planted she sprinted down the length of the platform sliding on her knees when a smaller but terrifyingly fast rock hurtled straight for her, only just managing to escape a blow to the head. Draco frantically fisted both hands into his hair to stop himself applauding with the rest of the Gryffindor's, fearing that he may be slightly bald by the end if she carries on this way. This girl had some explaining to do.  ** **   
** **

_ ‘Malfoy’s cannot be bald you know, Granger.’  _ Although now the broken ribs and cracked skull were starting to make perfect sense.  ** **   
** **

Draco didn’t know what to focus on, the sheer speed of everything or the fact that Granger is  _ actually flying  _ from one rock to the next, clearly using an Ascendio charm and then casting ropes of light, wrapping around the rocks and dragging her to them like a pulley. Screams and curses from her housemates were not helping his already fraying nerves.  ** **   
** **

_ ‘Seriously, who the fuck puts  _ themselves _ through this?  _ Twice!’ ** **   
** **

His breath caught when she made a leap of faith and crashed onto the base of the remnants of the stone steps, nearly careening off the other end but thanks to what looks like a well placed Epoximise, she manages to hold on, hauling herself up just before Anderson reached the steps. She reached, hoisting herself up and onto the spire. How she has enough strength for such a feat baffles the shit out of Draco and yet she carries on, grinning with determination. He could see Anderson laughing behind her, close on her heels but he isn’t quick enough to get past. Granger makes one final lunge and grabs hold of the golden disc, pulling it from its holder. Another appears in a flash which is taken by Anderson and the whole stand erupted into an ear splitting roar. Only when the shields lift and the stones settle back into their original place did Draco realise that he had clapped along with them. He prayed Blaise and Theo hadn’t noticed, if they had, they were thankfully too enthralled to comment.  ** **   
** **

“How the hell do they get down?” Parvati shouted to the group. ** **   
** **

“Ah shit.” Weasel looked sheepishly at them all, “I  _ may  _ have forgotten to tell her that part.” ** **   
** **

“What? She’s going to kill you!” Fay laughed. ** **   
** **

“Hey, I didn’t have anyone to tell me! I had to find out for myself, besides, I think it was better  _ not _ knowing.” ** **   
** **

A small wooden square platform appeared next to the two Gryffindor's which they both hopped onto from the spire. It levitated over the side of the tower and just when Draco thinks it’s about to lower them down gently, although unsure how Weasley thought Granger would dislike it, the platform paused, suspended in mid air for a minute. He could see Granger shaking her head frantically at whatever Anderson is saying in her ear, his arms circled her waist as he moved to stand behind her. Her head tilted back onto his shoulder and he moved her arms into a cross position over her chest, grinning at something she just said. ** **   
** **

_ ‘Make the most of it while you can, salad man.’ _ ** **   
** **

That moment lasted all of two seconds before the platform vanishes completely, and Granger’s piercing shriek fills the entire ‘room’ as they hurtle down the entire length of the tower and into a deep, extended part of the moat below.  ** **   
** **

The Gryffindor's hurried down from the stands to greet the sodden pair, but Draco’s not sure he could even move his frozen limbs. Not even sure he could form words as to what just happened. This was so much worse than what he had envisioned, yet apparently this was the exact material that Malfoy Junior needed to rise from his recently displeased slumber. Perfect. ** **   
** **

“What…  _ the fuck _ … did we just watch?” Theo demands when the Gryffindor's left the clearing and it was clear they were safely out of earshot. ** **   
** **

“ _ That _ , I’m guessing, was seven months worth of scheming all rolled into one spectacular display.” He replied dryly.  ** **   
** **

“C’mon.” Blaise nudges him towards the stairs. “We still have an element of surprise, besides we have no idea what that arena will look like, let’s not lose hope yet.” ** **   
** **

Draco nodded, hoping that he was right because if that arena resembles anything remotely similar to this, they were beyond any doubt, unequivocally and undeniably, fucked.

** **

*** ** **   
** **

By the time they had made it back to the old oak tree the group of Gryffindor's were filing through the door, laughing. The next three days couldn’t come quick enough till they could finally wipe their smug expressions from their faces.  ** **   
** **

_ ‘Fucking Gryffindor's.’ _ ** **   
** **

Their escape, however, was hindered by the two Witches remaining behind. Weasley, who was smirking delightfully at her friend, and Granger, now gulping down a bottle of water from the table, eyes burning with glee as they made their way over to the door, but instead sat down right in front of it.  ** **   
** **

_ ‘Shit.’ _ ** **   
** **

After ten excruciating minutes of listening to the girls chatting aimlessly, Blaise creeped over to Draco’s side, his voice barely a whisper. “If Theo misses dinner we will never hear the end of this.”  ** **   
** **

“I’m open to ideas.” ** **   
** **

“A distraction. I give it about five minutes before his growling stomach gives us away.”  ** **   
** **

Before Draco could even contemplate blowing up a few trees across the clearing, Weasley grabbed Granger’s water, coughing animatedly.  ** **   
** **

“Urgh, Godric’s balls,  _ what _ is that smell?” ** **   
** **

“Smell?” Granger looked at her curiously.  ** **   
** **

“It’s like, spicy and-” the redhead made a gagging sound, “cloying. I can practically taste it!” ** **   
** **

“Ah.” Granger nodded in understanding. “That would be Nott’s cologne, it  _ is  _ rather potent.” ** **   
** **

_ ‘Double shit.’ _ ** **   
** **

“Nott’s?” She asks in disbelief. Granger nodded raising her eyebrow as if the Witch was questioning her sanity. ** **   
** **

Weasley covered her nose with the back of her hand, looking displeased. “How do they stand to be around him?” ** **   
** **

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose, if there was ever a time to wish for telepathy, it was now. He could hear Blaise muttering  _ “don’t do it, don’t do it,” under his breath. _ ** **   
** **

“Beats me. You’d think if they had any semblance of pity they would tell the poor guy that he wears  _ far  _ too much-” ** **   
** **

“I do _ not _ wear too much cologne!”  ** **   
** **

_"He did it..."_

Granger sat back against the tree, folding her arms with a triumphant grin as the fucking moron reveals himself. “You too, Malfoy.” She called out to her surroundings, still smirking at the pouting man in front of her. ****  
****

“Blaise.” Weasley demanded, rolling her eyes when Granger made a show of looking at Weasley’s watch.  ** **   
** **

“I do believe you owe me a few Galleons.” ** **   
** **

“I really should have learnt the impatience of men by now,” Weasley sighed. “ _ Should _ have gone for Blaise, he’s far less impulsive.” She now shot an accusing look at Granger who looks anything but sorry.  ** **   
** **

“Exactly why I  _ didn’t  _ go for Blaise.” The man in question ended his disillusionment charm and leant against the tree next to him, grinning. Draco followed suit as feigning innocence was now completely out of the question.  ** **   
** **

“Maybe next time you should raise the stakes,” Blaise challenges, eyes glinting. “I’d make it worth your while, Weasley.” ** **   
** **

“Enjoy the show?” Granger asked before Weasley could retort, pinning Draco with an intense stare. He couldn’t tell if he was about to be reprimanded for spying or asked if they regretted their decision to, as her lips curve upwards.  ** **   
** **

“What the hell is this?” He motioned to the room and the horrors beyond, trying to keep the earlier awe from his voice, nor show her the irritation that was currently filling his veins, he’d be damned to show her just how much this little display dampened their plans slightly.  ** **   
** **

“I thought that much was obvious,” she teased. “Although I’ll admit, I was shocked that three Slytherins such as yourselves hadn’t even  _ considered _ this.” ** **   
** **

“You mean  _ cheating _ .” Theo adds, giving her a dry look. ** **   
** **

“Is it?” Weasley made a show of mock offense.  ** **   
** **

“And here I was thinking we were merely being… _ Resourceful. _ ” Granger goads, unknowingly playing them at their own game because if she knew what he had planned, she wouldn’t be that smug, no, he would be blasted out of the room quicker than he could say he was anything but sorry.  ** **   
** **

“Perhaps they’re losing their touch.” Ginny chimed in. Blaise moved off the tree, taking a few steps towards the Witch. ** **   
** **

“Trust me Weasley, we haven’t  _ lost _ anything.”  ** **   
** **

“Yet.” Her answering grin only causing Blaise’s eyes to darken. ** **   
** **

“How did you know we were here?” Draco asked, not wanting them to wonder why Blaise thinks they might still have the upper hand. ** **   
** **

“You mean, besides the obvious?” Weasley laughed, scrunching her nose in Theo’s direction. Draco bit his lip at Theo’s stony expression.  ** **   
** **

Granger summoned over three wand holsters from the water table, two of them landing in front of Theo and Blaise but the last one she plucked from the air, strolling over to stand in front of him. Draco’s eyes linger on hers for a while, noticing the blush sweep over her cheeks, before looking down at her hands and he fought to contain a groan. The holster was a dark emerald green, the leather embossed with scales and a serpent sigil in the centre. A stark contrast to the dark red of the holster strapped to Granger’s arm, complete with an embossed roaring Lion. So much for being stealthy. ** **   
** **

Blaise cleared his throat and only then did Draco realise his hands gripping not only the holster but also the Witch’s fingers. Hastily taking the annoyingly bespoke and well made holster from her, Draco ignored his friends knowing look. Granger just laughed, giving them a wink before motioning to the clearing behind him. “Have fun, we won’t be needing it now.” ** **   
** **

He wasn’t sure where this extra confidence was coming from, or maybe it was because she just knowingly bossed out a fucking giant obstacle tower with barely a scratch. But considering she could barely look him in the eye the last month, she was now coming for them just as much as they come for them, and that just wouldn’t do. Balls be damned was it a turn on though, especially the sight of her tight arse sauntering out of the room. ** **   
** **

“Smooth.” Blaise clapped him on the shoulder, admiring his own holster with a chuckle. “Real smooth.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, If you have been following the story and awaiting an update, I am sorry and thank you for your patience! My health and a broken tablet got in the way, but I am back to finish this!
> 
> Secondly, the Gaelic name Eire in this chapter is pronounced Ay-ra (ˈeːɾʲə)

(Hermione)

Saturday morning came around in double time, and before anyone could even contemplate the potential horrors that awaited them today, from the Slytherins especially, Hermione was heading out of the castle, Dean and Ginny in tow, when the majority of the school were only just heading to breakfast. The twins were gracious enough to offer opening the shop before their normal time, so any students who had the forethought to buy their products and got up early enough would be able to get first pickings of anything left which could be allowed in the game. Probably  _ slim _ pickings after Malfoy had most likely pilfered their entire stock, Hermione could only hope at this stage. At least they had been granted some items on their own pre-order owl so all was not entirely lost on that front, and boy did she look forward to watching their smug faces drop like a sack of shit. 

Hermione was pleased to note the lack of students as they turned onto the cobbled street, basking in the apricot glow peeking out across the array of tiled roofs that littered the small, blissfully quiet village. 

As they rounded the corner, the looming giant sculpture of the two mischievous twins come into view, their mechanical arms beckoning potential customers into the shop where the human models were standing in wait, wearing matching grins, magenta robes clashing wildly with their fiery amber locks. Within seconds of walking through the dramatic shop entrance, two sets of arms lunge for her, pinning Hermione between them and even with the inability to breathe, any uneasiness about the day’s impending activities melted away between the Weasley-Granger sandwich. It’s funny how even a short time with the Twins resulted in a sense of mental peace, although Hermione was sure for Molly it’s entirely the opposite. 

They eventually free her trapped lungs and move onto Dean, clapping him on the shoulder with a firm shake of hands before rounding on an apparently seething Ginny. “Charming! Say hello to everyone first but your own sister,” she grumbled. 

“Did you come up with an event that will make us a tonne of money?” George asked. 

“And potential clientele for the years to come?” Fred laughs as she rolls her eyes, pulling her in for a hug.

“No. I wasn’t  _ privy _ to that meeting.”

“Pipe down, Beast.” George winked, ruffling her hair but isn’t quick enough to miss the punch to his groin.

“I  _ told _ you not to call me that.” 

“Brave, brother. So,” Fred squeezed George’s shoulder as his brother took a few deep breaths. “Apart from the fact our Gin is still as violent as ever, how are we all doing?”

Dean snorted. “We’d be better if we knew what Malfoy has in store for us.” 

“So just how screwed are we, then?” Ginny asks, trying to flatten her messy hair. 

“Sorry, can’t say.” George wheezed, turning away from his sister in case she wasn’t finished potentially ruining his future hopes of fatherhood. 

_ “What?” _ She spluttered. “I’m your sister!”

“It’s part of our customer confidentiality I’m afraid.” 

“You’re kidding,” Dean exclaimed, also completely bowled over by their sudden want of ethics. The men at least had the grace to look apologetic, well, George less so.

“Wish we were, mate.”

“Not to mention the delightful visit from dear old’ Minnie saying, and with no amount of subtlety, that there would be hell to pay if either of us A- poach students into buying products for the games,-”

“-and B- mention any orders to any student who might come inquiring.” George raised a pointed brow at Ginny.

“The only way around that clause, dear sister-”

“Is if the Aurors come knocking.” Both twins parroted before disappearing into their stockroom. This had clearly become a variation of a well-rehearsed speech to many a disgruntled victim of their products.

After a few minutes perusal of their ridiculous Wonder Witch products and what appeared to be a half-empty display of new arts and crafts materials, Hermione cringed at the pitifully small bags Fred and George now carried from the stock room, setting them on the till counter.

“It won’t be enough,” Dean said, looking between Ginny and Hermione, parroting her own thoughts. “Will it?”

“It will have to be.” Gin sighed. 

“What else are you thinking?” George asks.

“Something to wipe the expressions off their smarmy faces would be nice. I want them to retreat with their proverbial tail between their legs to whatever dark hole they smugly slithered out from.” A content sigh escaped Hermione at the wondrous thought. “Preferably with a minor- if not major- show of humiliation.” She was met with stunned silence from the twins, something that did not happen very often, if ever before George chuckled. 

“Ok, what happened to our Hermione?” Fred guffawed. 

“She got bored.” A devilish grin masking her innocent reply, which the twins soon mirrored. 

“Wicked.” They both replied.

“Well, you’re in the right place!”

“We’ve got just the items you need.” One of them shouted from the back of the store where they disappeared with a  _ pop. _

_ Crack! _ Fred appeared by Hermione’s side and slung an arm around her shoulders, rolling a glossy black ball between his fingers. “Bouncing webs! One of our latest inventions, designed like the muggle rubber balls, only they don’t stop bouncing until they are in the vicinity of another person.”

George reappears in front of us carrying what looked like a heavy canvas sheet. “The ball explodes into a viscous onyx web catching whoever walks past one, great for booby traps or a quick getaway!” 

That  _ would _ be the perfect item for the game, except for the fact that they could also trap themselves if they weren’t careful enough. “How do they get out?” Hermione asked uneasily.

“A simple severing charm will work if you have your wand that is.” 

“But the web disintegrates after a few hours if not.”

“And you’re sure it’s safe, can you even breathe under it?” Fred passed Hermione the ball and she was surprised by how featherlight it was, fighting the nostalgic urge to bounce it as high as possible. 

“Oh, they’ve been tested alright.”

“Poor Ronniekins.” George shook his head with a grin. “Fresh out the shower, nearly shat himself when we lobbed one in Grimmauld Place.”

“Good job he was already in the bathroom.”

“Turns out, when the web gets wet it becomes super slippery.”

“Turned the entire second floor into a sticky slip and slide trying to escape.”

“It was rather unsightly…” 

“Kept sticking to the furniture for the rest of the day.”

Hermione looked between the two of them incredulously, trying her very best not to laugh.

“What? Harry found it hilarious.” Fred replied as if that statement alone solved any wrongdoing, carefully extracting the ball from Hermione’s hand before suffering the same fate and pocketed it. Ginny, on the other hand, had tears streaming down her face.

“Please tell me you got a photo of that?”

“That we did! Sent it to him on a card for his birthday. Mum wasn’t impressed mind you and Ron made quick work of destroying it, but not to worry, we made copies. And,” George tapped his wand against his temple, “It’s all in here for the family pensieve.”

“You’re wicked.” Hermione was unable to keep the scolding look any longer. Fred squeezed her closer to him, his breath warm against her ear.

“Admit it, that’s why you love us.” Shoving him to the side, she pointed at the sheet George was carrying, ignoring the heat creeping up her cheeks.

“What’s that?”

“Ah, this,” he unfolds the sheet and lays it on the shop floor, “is our Trespasser trap. It takes on the colour and texture of whatever surface you place it on, waiting for an unsuspecting victim.” After a few seconds, the canvas material looked as though it was seeping into the wooden floor of the shop, the only indication that it was still there was the slightly raised edges of the material.

“And when someone walks on it?” Dean asked.

“So glad you asked mate! Why don’t you step on it and find out?” George challenged.

“Should have just kept my mouth shut.” Dean sighed, rolling his shoulders and stepping onto the centre of the wide sheet. Hermione shrieked as the edges of the sheet flew up at rapid speed, leaving Dean hanging in mid-air by the ceiling, kicking and elbowing the canvas to no avail. 

“If used outside it can suspend its victim up to twenty feet off the ground. This one is our demonstration, they have about five good snares in them before they start to run out of magic juice.” With a flick of his wand, George lowered Dean back onto the ground and the sheet straightened out, once more disappearing into the floor. Hermione had to admit, not enough people gave them enough credit. No matter what the products were used for, they showed incredible skill from the men. 

“Holy  _ shit! _ Hermione, you’ve got to try that!”

She took a step to the other side of Dean, narrowing her eyes at Fred who subtly inched closer, lips quirked. 

_ ‘Try me, Weasley, I dare you.’ _

“How much for the traps?” Fred smartly backed down, sharing a look with his brother.

“For you? Nothing.”

“What?! No, I can’t accept that.”

“You can.”

“And you will.”

“As a thank you from us.”

“No, really I-”

“We’ve made a lot of money from you already thanks to this event, and we expect more students to come in today too. We only have three of these here anyway.” George folds up the sheet and puts it back in the box. Summoning the other traps and laying them on the counter with the rest of their order.

“Thank you,” Hermione smiled before looking down at her feet, praying they weren’t that expensive. “I’m paying for the webs though.” Her tone left no room for argument.

Fred chuckled, “How many do you want?”

“How many have you got?” His grin widened.

* * *

After staying for a quick cup of tea, they had little choice but to head out before any other students could see them or catch wind of their plans. Nor did they want those pesky Snakes knowing they had sussed them out either. 

“Remember your basic charms!” Fred blurted out as they stepped over the threshold. Ginny and Dean’s puzzled looks mirrored Hermione’s as they all turned back to the twins.

“Yea… We know you’re meant to be showing off your fancy spells and all that jazz but… don’t forget the  _ basics. _ ”

“Yep… Charms are your friends…” 

“Well, that’s our parting wisdom for you lot, have fun!” And with that, the door closed with a puff of cheering confetti. 

“Do you think we should have told them?” Fred said from the other side of the door, noticing the baffled looks from their parting words. 

“And have our balls strung up like trophies, are you mad brother?”

“You’re right Forge, let’s just hope they’re not too pissed afterwards.”

“We helped all we can, besides it will be a distant memory by the time they see us again.” 

Fred wasn’t sure how George was so confident with that statement, did he not realise that this is Hermione and their little sister? It could be a decade later and they would still remember. 

_ ‘Shield charms at the ready, brother.’ _

* * *

After a quick stop off at Honeydukes for what would be a much-needed sugar rush after the game, and Scrivenshaft’s Quill shop for some post-exam retail therapy, they made their way back up to the castle, passing by a few groups of hurried, flush-faced seventh years heading into the now bustling cobbled high street which was fraught nervous energy. But the sight that awaited their return was not the one they had left only an hour ago, and certainly explained the wide-eyed, panic-stricken Witches and Wizards they had just passed. Sudden flashbacks of the third Triwizard task came hurtling forward as one by one, they all came to an abrupt stop, slack-jawed and completely lost for words. 

In the vast open area between the castle gates and Hagrid’s Hut now stood five large octagonal tents, the two octagonal tents on either side were striped in the colours of each house, their corresponding crest emblazoned onto the spired roofs. However, the centre tent was a vivid violet with liquid golden trim, square in shape and stood double the height of the other four, acting as a gateway to their very imminent demise. For the exit opened out onto a colossal wooden circular structure, far larger than the Quidditch pitch, perhaps the size of multiple stands clumped together, although it seemed to match in height. 

Dean runs his hands through his hair. “How the bloody hell did they manage to keep that hidden?”

“Never underestimate the sheer force that is Professor McGonagall,” came Ginny’s dry reply.

“Come on,” not wanting to stay and gawk over this afternoon's fate any longer, Hermione headed straight for the castle doors. “We’ve got two hours till we need to be back here, let’s make them count.”

* * *

It was a near-silent walk back from the Gryffindor Tower to the larger than expected arena. At first, the common room had been full of excited chatter and typical Gryffindor ruckus, rehearsing plans which had been combed through in fine detail the entire week, changing into all black, active clothing as per McGonagall’s rules, the girls all helping tie each other’s hair into intricate, sturdy braids. Parvati had insisted that she apply eyeliner to each of them to resemble a cat-eye as a nod to their house, and although bold makeup isn’t usually in Hermione’s daily routine, she had to admit that what Parvati had created was rather striking. 

Roland’s cousin had Owl’d him a package full of black bum bags for the game, in which to easily store and access this mornings purchases, and after an added featherlight charm, they proved the perfect accompaniment to their bespoke wand holsters. The younger years all buzzed around the group, offering their well wishes and loud motivational chants, everyone was jovial. But as the common room started to clear of students all eagerly making their way down to the stands, the excited chatter soon turned rather swiftly to anxious laughter and jittery limbs. 

A large crescent-shaped table stood in the centre of their spacious tent and they made their way over to the name cards littering the surface, awaiting inspection. The heavy sigh of Professor McGonagall greeted them after a few long minutes as she strolls through the entrance of the tent, batting away a few escaped strands of hair before straightening her attire and beginning her perusal through their bags. 

“She looks like she’s seen some shit,” Alex whispered to the group at the far end.

“That I have, Miss Rivers, you are in for one  _ interesting _ game I assure you.” The Headmistress replied, not taking her eyes off the contents of Roland’s bag. 

Alex turned slightly pale, whether from the confirmation of just how screwed they were, or the Batlike hearing from their Professor, but instant chatter erupted from all sides of the table. Hermione couldn’t hear them over the racing thump in her chest. Was this what it felt like for Harry and Ron each time Quidditch came around? Was it too late to say that she was suddenly not so sure this was such a great idea? Seriously, what the hell were they doing?

_ ‘It’s just a game… It’s just a game. That we  _ will _ win, they’re going down, all of them. Yesssssss.’  _

“-Hermione?”

“Sorry?”

“Your bag.” The Headmistress motioned to her waist and Hermione quickly unbuckled the bum bag, placing it gently on the table for inspection. McGonagall thankfully is extremely careful as she takes each item out of the bag, noting that they are the same objects as everyone else’s bar a few items which she gives a questionable glance at. McGonagall looked to her own list of Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes products which detailed their uses, a slight smile crossed her lips before handing over a Red and Gold bandana- which Parvati quickly snatched to fix in Hermione’s hair- and continued her inspection down the table. 

Once all their bags and items had been checked thoroughly, McGonagall led them out of their tent and through the violet and gold curtains of the vast entrance, which gave way to a spacious rectangular room. Three wide sets of stairs lined the walls on either side which Hermione guessed, judging by the noise, led to the stands above.

They were the last group to arrive which meant all eyes were on them, but Hermione faced forward, refusing to search for a particular set of eyes that would only make her stomach knot even more. McGonagall joined the other Heads of Houses who were each standing on their own raised platform at the front of the room. Professor Sprout gave them all a warm smile, wearing her very own Hufflepuff bandana across her patchwork pointed hat. Professor Flitwick looked resplendent as ever in sapphire blue and charcoal robes, miniature stars twinkling in the form of buttons. And at the end of the line stood Professor Slughorn; hands burrowed in the pockets of his forest green robes, looking at them all with a frustratingly smug expression. If Hermione hadn’t been worried about the items Malfoy had procured beforehand, she was now. Hermione was grateful she couldn’t see the undoubtedly mirrored expressions from the Slytherins at the far side of the room.

“If you could please join your Head of Houses, make sure to stay inside the lines.” Professor McGonagall pointed to the edge of the red platform she was standing on. Hermione knew that apparition was out of the question, thanks to the protective wards of the school, but she didn’t entirely trust the way McGonagall and the other heads were smiling at them. Hermione shared a look with Ginny and Dean before stepping up onto the crimson square. Once they were all carefully huddled in the centre, McGonagall flicked her wand and long wooden beams appeared on each side of the platform, boxing them in at waist height. Before Hermione could even contemplate, they were lifted in the air and barreling straight towards the arena wall. Screams erupted from every platform as they hurtled through the wall like a Thunderbird through storm clouds, and up over the arena, the walls had simply melted away like a fine mist. The sound of the crowd drummed through Hermione’s ears. Screams quickly turned to laughter as students picked themselves off the floor or loosened their grip on the railings, but died altogether when they saw what stood before them. 

“Merlin help us,” Ginny said, squashed beside Hermione. She couldn’t help but agree. They must have been a hundred feet above the ground, surrounded by a dense forest. Lara was cursing as they flew over the treetops, hiding her face in Owen’s chest and muttering how this school will be the death of her, Owen however, was standing on tiptoe and grinning like a fiend. 

A tall rock face stood proudly in the distance, large caves surrounded by a vast glistening lake appeared on the opposite side, but before Hermione could look around at the rest, her stomach dropped as they descended straight to the middle of the arena. Worn remains of what appeared to be an extremely old castle surrounded a spacious courtyard in the very centre of the arena, where their soaring platforms now landed gracefully.

Incandescent lines formed a large circle on the ground covering the entire courtyard, two more lines sectioned off the middle in a criss-cross pattern, dividing the circle equally into four sections, each line glowing a pale shade of Red, Blue, Green and Yellow. It reminded Hermione of the age line that surrounded the Goblet of Fire in their fourth year, and she sent out a silent prayer that this one didn’t lead to any trickery. Hermione wasn’t sure she could pull off facial hair like the twins, although she  _ would _ pay good money to see Ginny sporting a long Wizards’ goatee.

Dean nudged her side, his head inclining to the thunderous stands above. A thick fog broke out from each side of the stands, meeting in the middle in hues of silver and grey. Hundreds of faces faded from view, their shouts and applause muffled, until all that remained was a replica of the summer sky like there was no arena at all. An illusion, Hermione had to remind herself over and over, another clever enchantment from their Professors, yet that didn’t ease the unsteady pounding in her chest. 

“Right, everybody off… that’s it, mind your step now.” Came Professor Flitwick’s squeak from across the courtyard as he ushered the students into the ring. Hermione kept her eyes firmly planted on their charms professor and not the flash of white-blonde hair that appeared in her peripheral, slowly edging closer. 

“As you may have guessed, this area is the free zone. If any player is caught during the game, this is where you will find them. All enchantments will be lifted as soon as you cross your designated line.

There is an uneven amount of students in each house so we have had little choice but to add in one extra rule. Ravenclaw have the highest number of seventeen students, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor each have fifteen and Slytherin, fourteen.” Pride filled Flitwick’s voice although his smile didn’t quite convince Hermione as he rushed through his next statement. “Therefore, if all members of Ravenclaw are caught they will be immediately out of the game. However, if any of the other three houses find themselves in the same predicament then a second chance will be given. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff will be allowed two players to return to the game, Slytherin will have three. This rule can only be put in place  _ once  _ in the game, and those players will have to start back at their bases.”

Hermione dared a look across the courtyard. There was a mixture of reactions to this latest reveal. A spattering of disbelieving looks from the seventh year Ravenclaws, while others seemed confident enough that it would not affect their chances. Relief shone through Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones, the girls smiling to one another. The rest of Hufflepuff house standing straighter, determined.

But no amount of relief from this news compared to the sheer delight radiating from the last house, the students that she refused to look upon, the one standing not an arm's reach away. Too close. Hermione didn’t need to wonder what three students they would choose to reenter the game, she already knew. 

“Why so tense, Granger?” Came a soft whisper above her left ear. “If you ask nicely, we may go easy on you.”

“Don’t bother yourself, it would make for a terribly boring game if you were to be knocked out first.”

Hermione fisted both hands by her side, ignoring his answering chuckle. She would  _ not  _ let him get in her head, and she certainly would  _ not _ look up at his insufferably handsome face. Instead, she looked towards McGonagall who turned to address them all. 

“I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that curses and hexes are strictly prohibited, along with any other means of catching a player that will cause harm. You cannot lurk in the free zone if you do not need to be here. There will be eyes in every area to invigilate the game, we can see through every tunnel, every cave, every dark hole in this arena, so be warned, you  _ will _ be caught if you break the rules. 

Twenty minutes will be given to explore your bases and find your flags before the game officially begins, use this time  _ wisely _ , your free time is up at the sound of the canon.” McGonagall held up a large glass jar, scraps of brightly coloured fabric flew around inside, tapping against the glass as if to break free. “Follow your house colour and it will take you where you need to go. I don’t recommend losing sight of it.” Hermione stomach jumped as warm fingers trailed over her tightly wound knuckles, releasing them for a brief second. Hermione tried not to sink into the feeling before his hand fell away, her skin left tingling from the ghost of a touch.

The headmistress’ eyes twinkled at the group. “Oh and one last thing, the arena has a tendency to… change at will. Best to keep your wits about you.” And before anyone could question her parting words of wisdom, before Hermione could gather herself, McGonagall unscrewed the lid of the glass jar, releasing the angry scraps of fabric, and smiled. “Best start running.”

Utter. Pandemonium. That’s all Hermione could use to describe the sheer panic of the entire group of seventh and eighth years, sprinting in all directions of the courtyard after a flying scrap of cloth. Students were shoving past, but no matter how many elbows came her way, Hermione kept her eyes firmly planted on the Crimson fabric, pushing that gentle touch to the back of her mind. It darted through a large gap in the courtyard wall and round the corner, Hermione and Cale hot on its tail. Apparently, it was taking the fastest route possible and  _ not _ the path that was better suited for fifteen students to all follow. Hermione whipped around, briefly she caught sight of a flash of red hair rounding the corner at speed.

“Eye’s forward, we’re right behind you!”

Hermione didn’t need telling twice, nor Cale, as they both picked up the pace, hurtling through each derelict corridor of the castle. She imagined the castle almost resembled what Hogwarts’ halls would look like if they hadn’t been maintained for the last century. Olive green vines crept in through gaps in the stone foundation, the dust-coated glass windows that were still in place were a house elf’s dream, and the larger holes in the walls, which they were now climbing out from, were covered in refreshingly cool moss. 

Hermione’s feet landed on plush grass, but her eyes still trailed the strip of red now weaving its way through the forest trees before them. She briefly wondered how the other houses who hadn’t trained as brutally as they had, were managing to track their own, or whether their guide was just feeling particularly cruel to them, but one thing was for sure; they hadn’t trained for nine months so they could lose a piece of blasted fabric. Cale took the right side of the weaving cloth, Hermione sprinting on the left as they watched it dart around widely. After a few minutes of leaping over a selection of winding streams and diverting around fallen trees, the forest started to thin out and Hermione tried not to falter at the sight of their base. 

A gargantuan rock face loomed before them, jagged lines creating ominous shadows over the small windy passage their crimson guide was soaring toward. They had been given the canyon, and although Hermione had been impressed by their flight over the trees when she first spotted the base, it was certainly more imposing up close. Good.

Roland crashed through the treeline to Hermione’s right, determination set on his face as he overtook her, eyes straight on the entrance which Cale was nearing, or had been before he was pushed aside.

“Prick!” He snarled, “you’ll pay for that.”

“For Merlin’s sake,  _ EYES ON THE DAMN CLOTH!” _ Hermione breathlessly screamed at the pair. Their constant need to one-up each other would be the end of them. 

Suitably chastised, they flew forward, the chase back on. Hermione heard multiple heavy footfalls behind her, hoping no one had stumbled behind, but following the group appeared to be much easier than the guide sending them on a merry chase down each passageway of the canyon. The rock walls were a mixture of peaches, corals, maroons and tawny browns, taller than Hermione’s eyes could contemplate at the moment; there was definitely no worry about someone scaling the outer walls to get in. Many of the passageways connected to each other, some sent them around in circles, and others showed two different exits to the where they came in. Just when Hermione was starting to seeth about the time they were wasting, they turned a tight corner onto a passage that inclined slightly, the cloth darting straight to the wide centre of the path, where it reattached itself to the bottom of a crimson and golden flag. An Aurelien lion stood proudly in its centre, mutely roaring as the group staggered in, catching their breath. 

Cale and Roland ran on ahead, eager to be the first to fully explore the last uncovered passage of the base, Roland returning behind them a minute later. “The other end of the passage loops round to this entrance, it’s on the same path thankfully.” Well, that was some good news. Hermione studied the rock walls, pointing to a part of the rock that has caved in slightly halfway up, creating a possible ledge to hide away on. Everyone started discussing the best possible plan of action when Cale strolled in from the other side of the passage, his brow creased.

“There are two paths that lead to dead ends either side of this path before it loops around, a fair size too.”

“Then why  _ the fuck _ did McGonagall put the flag  _ here  _ and not in the dead-end? _ ” _ Alex moaned.

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Let’s just think about this for a second.” Hermione jumped in. Honestly, she would be lying if she said it wasn’t her first thought as well. The flag stood in the middle of a passage that widened around the flag but had two entrances to cover, the two paths Cale had discovered would make for a better vantage point, but the flag was levitating in a small red circle much like the free zone, unable to be moved, therefore they were stuck with it. 

“The flag took us the most direct route out of the castle and through the forest, yet sent us on a wild goose chase around this base, and what did we see in that time? Three different exits, possible hidey-holes, and Cale discovered two dead ends. We’ve seen everything we needed to see, now all we need to do is make sure our backs are covered, lay traps on every exit. We can use the dead ends to hide for an ambush.” 

“Agreed. They’re not noticeable from the other end, I say we block off this corner,” Cale pointed to the entrance they all came in from, “and force them to loop around so we will be at their backs when they enter.” 

Ginny delved into her bag and pulled out a triangular orange package that emitted a mouldy green smoke from its tip. “Reckon this will work?”

“Aye,” Eilidh covered her nose, getting as far away from Ginny as she could, the rest of them following her lead. “That’ll do it.”

“Hermione, fancy giving me a leg up? Not that eager to get any of this on me.” Hermione nodded, plucking her wand from her holster, waiting until Ginny got the corner before levitating her a fair distance from the ground, wobbling slightly. Ginny shot her a look, grasping the package tightly. 

“Apologies. Hand spasm.” Hermione smiled sweetly, not forgetting Ginny’s little trick in Defence against the dark arts class a few weeks ago. Apparently, she was still feeling salty about looking like a drowned rat in front of Malfoy.

“I swear to Circe, Hermione, If you drop me in this there will be even bigger hell to pay.” 

“Try to throw it as far down the passage as possible,” Mila called out, cutting off Hermione’s retort. “Those things have a mind of their own, we don’t want to accidentally flood this area.”

Ginny launched the package forward. An almighty rotten smell wafted up the pathway as the package hit the ground with a sludgy thump. Hermione couldn’t see the damage from this side of the corner but judging by Ginny’s face she had aimed true. Only a small amount of the black and moss green smoking swamp crawled beneath Ginny, another advantage of their slightly sloped position. 

Hermione lowered her down gently before the group. _ “Hand spasm, my arse.” _ Ginny mumbled, looking down at her watch. “We have twelve minutes till the canon.” 

“Time to split.” Neville turned to Fay with a smile. “We have work to do."

They had agreed to their plan of action back in the tower. Not everyone had jumped at the chance to run into the fray, wands blazing, So they had decided that Mila, Daniel, Will, Parvati, Lara and Eilidh would stay as basers, securing the camp with as many traps as they could within the canyon.

Dean, Neville, Fay, Alex and Owen would take to the surrounding forest to booby trap before joining whichever base the scouts reported to be the safest. The scouts being Hermione, Ginny, Cale and Roland.

Cale and Roland would take the base on their left to scout, which turned out to be Hufflepuff, and Hermione and Ginny would take the right; Ravenclaw, which means they need to leave before the rest if they were to report back in good time. It also meant that Slytherin was furthest away from them, and Hermione hoped they would have used the bulk of their products on the other houses before targeting the Gryffindors. She knew it wouldn’t work out that way, but the hope eased the knot in her stomach.

Parvati, Eilidh and Daniel were hot on Hermione, Ginny, and the runner’s toes as they headed to one of the base exits, pointing out which passages would soon be the most dangerous along the way, should they chose to enter them on their return trip, or better yet, the best routes to trap anyone silly enough to follow them. There was a comfort knowing they couldn’t be caught within their base, however that doesn’t mean they will be immune to the effects of the Weasley’s products, or any other magic they had up their proverbial sleeves. They would need to exercise caution, particularly the seemingly empty and all too tempting pathway by the entrance to the left of the base, that Daniel was now evaluating with a keen eye. His hands treating the soft clay wall with care, muttering away frantically before grinning in her direction. Hermione fought a smile as she dived into the blinding rays that demolished their safety, feet hitting the forest floor with speed. Yes, that one would be the most beneficial path of them all.

Hermione looked back once at Neville and Fay, noting the large X being carved into a pair of tall oak trees on either side of the trespasser trap now fading into its surrounding at their feet, the only clue they would have as to where their traps lay.

They ran on, keeping their movements as silent as possible until the faintest sounds of strangers voices entered the air, forcing them both to grapple up into the treelines. Hermione’s arms welcomed the familiar burn, masking the slight tremble that had begun halfway through their climb when Filch’s cannon boomed deafeningly across the arena. The games had begun.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Hermione scanned the forest floor for any signs of activity. Ginny inched closer pointing to a stone structure peeking out through the trees across the way, Hermione was glad they chose the safer option of climbing, or at least they thought they had chosen that way. As they drew closer, hopping from branch to branch, Hermione noticed flashes of blue bandanas- only just below their height. Her stomach flipped as the Rvaneclaw base came into full clarity. Gin cursed under her breath, Alex’s joke of their base being in the trees had become very, very real.

On the left side of the base stood a wide granite turret connected to the centre of a large semi-hollow tree by a stone archway, turning into steps spiralling up and out from the tree’s trunk. Three levels of long wooden walkways connected the steps to another enormous oak. They had entered a, part eyrie, part treehouse settlement that would be any child’s fantasy hide and seek playground.  _ Now  _ it felt like she had stepped into a Tolkein novel, and it took her breath away.

Hermione counted five large tree bases but lost track of how many bridges encompassed the camp at various levels, her gaze now solely transfixed onto a pair of beady hunter’s eyes swaying lightly in the wind, eyes belonging to an eagle flying proudly on a sapphire and bronze flag. It stood in the very centre of a wooden platform only accessible via the two middle trees on the highest row of walkways. Now Hermione was unable to breathe for an entirely different reason as the gravity of their situation dawned on her.  _ Gravity. _ Hermione snorted at the irony, earning a curious look from Ginny who only seemed thrilled with their findings.  _ Of course, she did. _

“Ok, so they may have a slight height advantage-” Ginny’s whisper cut short as Hermione whirled on her. “Well, all right, a major height advantage. But, look, they have multiple exits to cover at once, and their only cover in the turret, we should be able to see them coming.” 

Hermione followed where her friend was picking out the exits. The turret was the main way into the treeline but Hermione’s breathed a small sigh of relief at the spiral steps from the forest floor to the farthest tree of the turret. They had both sides of their base to cover from the ground, and that’s not including anyone brave enough to face the sickening height Hermione and Ginny had climbed to. She also noticed a smattering of smaller rope ladders connecting the various levels. Hermione chuckled at Ginny’s nudge to her ribs, she could always trust her to keep a calm head when Hermione’s brain went into panic mode.

“How do you want to play this?” Hermione asked, grabbing the medallion she wore proudly around her neck whilst Gin stares on, brows drawn together. Tapping her wand to the medallion, Hermione gave a detailed as possible report to the object she had used a protean charm on. Similar to the DA coins they used back in her fifth year, just tweaked slightly to include other objects from those who didn’t complete the nicknamed tower of doom.

“Well, we  _ could  _ wait for Cale or Roland, see which base is easiest, although…” Ginny looked longingly at the flag, “it is  _ right there _ .”

“Do we dare without any backup?” They were meant to wait until the runners agreed which base to offer help, but Hermione was just as tempted to throw caution to the wind.

“They won’t be expecting an attack this early, what’s the worst that could happen?” Hermione rolled her eyes at the challenging gleam in Ginny’s eyes.

Ginny placed a finger to her lips, beckoning her to follow as she crept closer. The eyrie was on the furthest side to them so they could either enter from the spiral steps below, or risk a leap of faith from a neighbouring tree and pray they made a clean, or at least quiet, landing.

They watched a group of seven Ravenclaw’s head out into the forest from the base of the turret, splitting up. Three turned right, heading in Slytherin’s direction, another three straight ahead, and one lone soldier milled around without clear direction or haste. Long blonde curls billowed down her back, sporting the most absurd copper contraption on her head Hermione had ever seen. Multiple spindly arms stuck out at odd angles, whirring and clicking away, some sporting an assortment of eyeglasses for the wearer. What on earth?

Hermione must have uttered the last part aloud given Ginny’s chuckle. “Don’t ask, apparently it helps detect magical anomalies or some shit.”

At least the rest of the Ravenclaw’s weren’t going to Gryffindor yet, but it still left nine people at their base to avoid. Two girls patrolled near the spiral steps, three guys on the second level, another two at the top; Anthony Goldstein by one side of the flags platform and a blonde seventh-year girl on the other, face set with fierce determination. Thankfully, their gazes were cast downwards and not thinking to look just above their heads. Hermione guessed the remaining two players were lying in wait within the turret.

An almost searing warmth lit up Hermione’s chest, they both grasped their medallions before the message could disappear.

_ Puff base, network of underground burrows -R _

_ He means Honey Badger hell. Four entrances, one dead-end -C _

_ No sign of flag yet, found multiple hiding spots, fuckers are everywhere -R _

_ There’s sand in places I never want sand to be. -C _

Hermione held in her laugh, she could practically hear Cale’s grumbling from here, most likely peeved they didn’t find the first flag.

_ H, G. We’re coming to you first -N _

Hermione quickly replied their whereabouts as best as she could before turning her attention back to Ravenclaw base, only to hold her breath. Gin was muttering something to her but Hermione couldn’t make out the words, something was wrong. Anthony was still patrolling on the opposite side, but the blonde girl was gone. Quickly scanning the lower areas Hermione noticed all too slowly that even if she had gone to the turret, there was no way she could have got there so quickly. She slammed her palm over her friend’s mouth and took note of the surrounding trees, Ginny stilled noticing Hermione’s observation.

Movement caught her eye to their right, a flash of a grin before a streak of white shot straight towards their heads. Hermione shoved Ginny to the side as she leapt from the branch, hoping she wouldn’t hate her too much for it later. The charm bounded off the tree trunk, fizzling into nothing and thankfully missing Ginny’s shoulder. The redhead didn’t hesitate, jumping to her feet and shooting a silent  _ Obscuro _ towards the girl. Clearly, she hadn’t expected such a quick recovery and the spell hit home causing her to curse rather colourfully. She could make even Alex blush. Hermione didn’t wait till the girl could reverse the spell, they were forced to choose the leap and pray option, so that’s exactly what she did.

Conjuring her trusty golden rope, Hermione veered off one branch, plummeting towards the ground before swinging violently upwards, airborne for a few heart-stopping seconds as she dropped the rope, swallowing her scream to charm a slower landing. She still hit the nearest wooden bridge with more force than she expected, falling flat on her front. Hardly graceful but Hermione was glad for it, as it meant dodging a rapid succession of bright red sparks aimed straight for her. The gratitude wore off the split second the Periculum bounced off the platform, alerting the other Ravenclaws to their presence.

Ginny landed on the neighbouring walkway to Hermione’s. “Keep Eire busy for me,” she shouted over her shoulder, bolting towards the platform Anthony was running to guard.  _ Eire? _ An almighty blast erupts behind Hermione, she jumped to her feet as the blonde Ravenclaw slammed onto the walkway, narrowly avoiding Ginny with what looked like an Impedimenta jinx, then turned her attention to Hermione.  _ Ah, Eire. _

Hermione had little trouble distracting the girl as they hurtled through the base, dodging each other’s attacks. Twice, Hermione had nearly been taken out whilst trying to keep her away from Ginny, her palms were beginning to sweat and her mind whirled with ideas on how to shake the Witch without causing harm. When thrown into what’s meant to be a friendly battle of strategy and skill, it was all too easy to get lost in the all too realistic setting their professors had put them in. No, she has a name. Eire. And this isn’t a real battle, therefore Hermione can’t simply toss her off the side, nor stun her. 

So when Eire managed to wheedle her way in front of Hermione, cutting off her only path to the flag from this side of the camp, a spell firing her way, she had little choice but to turn tail and dive onto walkway on the level below. She ducked behind one of the large oak bases where the other two Ravenclaw girls from the level below couldn’t aim. She needed to get her bearings and find where her pursuer had gone. 

“Ah,  _ BALLS. _ ” Hermione dared a look around the trunk in time to see Ginny clutching onto the wooden railings of the bridge on the upper level, staggering on legs that appeared to be refusing her friend’s curses to move.  _ Ah. Jelly legs. _ Before Ginny had the time to inflict the pain her expression promised onto Goldstein, a  _ snap _ sounded to her left. A pair of large glassy eyes appeared from thin air followed by large pointy ears, jade coloured skin and a ratty tea towel fashioned to its small frame. Fingers snapped and Ginny hovered in the air, just as shocked as Hermione before floating through the treetops towards the centre of the arena. 

She didn’t even have time to register the fact that McGonagall had brought damn  _ house elves _ into the games when a spell whizzed past her ear. Hermione was now one against nine, not odds she would usually, or ever, consider fun.  _ Balls indeed. _

Making sure her protective shields were strengthened, Hermione bolted from the tree, firing several jinxes behind her at her pursuers then jumping from bridge to platform to rope ladder until she was in direct sight of the twisting stone steps from the main entrance, where the sounds of rushing footsteps drew closer to the upper level. Hermione cast a Glisseo on the steps before the first girl hit the landing. Steps gave way to a gleaming marble, merging before dipping vertically. Screams echoed through the camp by the five Ravenclaws hurtling down the polished slide, skidding out onto the turrets archway in a mound of flailing limbs and muffled curses. 

Hermione only allowed herself a second to chuckle at the sight before spinning towards a second rope ladder at the end of the walkway, dodging flashes of light heading her way. Fortunately, both Anthony and Eire were now in the same direction which made shielding herself a lot easier, no longer terrified of a jinx hitting her backside. They also failed to notice Dean, Alex, Fay and Neville breaking through their baseline behind them. Pulling herself up onto their level, Hermione sprinted toward the centre trees with renewed vigour, throwing out a  _ Ventis duo _ in the Ravenclaw’s direction. 

The force of the wind nearly sent Hermione sprawling, her free hand shot out to grasp the railing, adjusting her balance. Thankfully, Anthony and Eire were less fortunate. The former was blasted on his back, tumbling off the platform and down the narrow walkway, the latter had also flown backwards but grabbed one of the hanging branches by the railing, enlarging them to triple their size as a form of shield from the battering winds.  _ Smart. _

Even though Eire had a brief reprieve to right herself, Hermione kept her aim at the branches, sprinting to the centre platform. Shouts and blasts erupted from all around her but she refused to look, simply praying that her back was now covered by her housemates. Hermione’s hand clasped around the base of the flag, tugging it free from its magical stand. A blast echoed behind her at Eire’s fully recharged shield charm tearing through Hermione’s wind. The girl caught sight of the commotion below before turning stormy eyes towards Hermione. 

Hermione hadn’t given much thought to having to defend against a terrifyingly stubborn Ravenclaw who looked for all the world like she was about to throttle her, whilst retreating  _ and _ carrying the flag by herself. It was practically impossible, she didn’t have enough time to even gather breath before the girl launched into a series of far greater attacks.  _ Curse  _ this girl was fast. Her shield was weakening and Hermione threw caution to the wind, flipping sideways over the railing. A shocked scream tore out of Eire as Hermione plummeted, followed by a scream of her own.

_ “ARESTO MOMENTUM!” _ A deep voice in the clearing had echoed her words and the battering wind turned gentle as Hermione hit the ground with little impact.  _ Dean.  _ His mouth was agape for a few seconds, then he was roaring with laughter.  _ Had she really just done that. _

Her elation wore off quickly upon seeing the chaos behind him. The other Gryffindors were taking cover between the huge tree bases against an onslaught of students with green bandanas. 

Dean was upon her in a flash, grabbing her arm and hurtling towards their section of the forest. Hermione threw the flag at Dean shouting for him to go on, given he was the fastest runner and she was already a little winded, but they were surrounded in seconds. She couldn’t understand why the Ravenclaws started to retreat to the safety of their baselines instead of engaging them. Hermione threw up a shield but it mattered little, a plume of iridescent powder exploded right in Hermione’s face. She doubled over, covering her eyes whilst trying not to choke on the shimmery dust. When the cloud settled, she couldn’t move. All she could focus on was the sight of Malfoy clutching the miniature cannon that he’d just blasted in her face. His eyes were wide as if  _ he _ was the one in shock before his lips split into the biggest grin she’d ever seen the Slytherin wear, mirrored by the two arseholes on either side of him.

Hermione looked down at herself, mortified at the sight of the powder sinking into her skin. At first, it was a mixture of colours, a rainbow of swirls, until gradually, her arms, hands, and she guessed her face too, were covered in hues of yellow and green.

“What. The.  _ HELL. _ Is this, Malfoy?” She tried not to scream but her panic was obvious.

_ “Don’t get moody  _ now, Granger. It’s just a little paint.” His jovial tone told Hermione that this wasn’t just any paint. She scrubbed frantically at her wrists, her skin and many freckles were still visible but the way the powder settled made it seem like her skin was glowing. But more worryingly…  _ It. Wasn’t. Coming. Off. _

At this point, Theo lost it. Bent double, he clutched his stomach as he cried with laughter, the others all joining in with their chuckles, all the while Hermione could only stare on in disbelief. If this was permanent, she would kill him. She would find a way to take that grin off his  _ frustratingly _ beautiful face, then she would kill him. 

Eire crashed through the treeline to Hermione’s left, shooting a barrage of spells at the Slytherins, but not one of them hit. Even though her aim was true, not one of the spells had any effect on the five smug students in front of them. A silvery glow similar to a shield charm surrounded each student, but none of them had moved, only Theo- who was still clutching his sides at Hermione’s expense. How were their shields that strong? 

Eire stilled. And that’s when Hermione noticed the identical black hats each of the Slytherins were adorning. Hats Hermione had seen the twins wear many times around the dinner table when they were about to have someone hex them for their various pranks.  _ Shield hats.  _

“You…”

She stood frozen. How in Merlin’s name had they been allowed in? They hadn’t just pilfered Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes of their stock, they had destroyed any chance of a fair game. And they had actually been allowed in. No  _ wonder _ Slughorn looked smug as shit before the games started.

_ “YOU ABSOLU-” _

Before Hermione had the chance to even string together a load of expletives for how she felt, a house elf  _ popped _ into existence beside her, clicking their fingers and Hermione was airborne.

“You just wait.” Hermione pointed directly to the three men. “I  _ will _ find you.  _ All  _ of you.”

Theo clambered onto Blaise, his voice pitching in mock horror. “Hold me, Blaise, I’m practically a quiver.”

Blaise shoved him off but smiled at Hermione. Malfoy just winked, his grin firmly in place as she sped off through the treetops. “Look forward to it, Granger.”

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never realised when I took this prompt, just how tricky this would be to write. I hope I am doing it justice and have an even more action-packed chapter up my sleeve which I hope to finish soon. Much love!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin's testies that took far too long to write, I apologise! The chapter grew so mammoth that I've had to split it into two. Forgive me, and enjoy!

People often fail to acknowledge the wonders of the world, they forget to take a minute and marvel at the beauty of it. Beyond the arena, the gates of the castle, the cobblestone village surrounding it and the vast rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands, sat a world of people in complete and utter oblivion as to what Hermione was currently witnessing. Or perhaps, being a muggle-born had given her a much clearer and more beautiful perspective. Hermione had never taken her time here for granted, she understood even with the events of the past few years, just how lucky she was. 

She  _ tried  _ to focus on those feelings as she bobbed high above the heads of students running into the fray or hiding in wait. She  _ tried  _ to regulate her racing heart by drawing in deep lungfuls of blissfully fresh air that struck her heated cheeks. She tried. But for every intake came clarity, and a new, more powerful emotion slammed to the forefront of Hermione’s mind. She could see it now, mirrored in the faces of other students, as a sea of Emerald adorned ambushers made any attempt to capture them, futile.  _ Rage.  _

Some things were common knowledge between the staff and students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, one of which was knowing what Hermione Granger hated above all else; Failure. She was perfectly content to pore her heart and soul into a project. What the majority viewed as unnecessarily laborious work and gruelling hours hidden away in the library, she rather enjoyed, truth be told. What she did  _ not _ tolerate, however, was seeing her hard work, and in this case, nine whole months worth of vigorous training, for those efforts to end up sharing the miserable depths of Moaning Myrtle’s U-bend. What further irritates the Witch is when it appears she never had a chance of success, to begin with. Now, losing to a worthy opponent; someone more advanced than Hermione, is a pill she could attempt to swallow, but when her opponent uses their bottomless trust fund to gain the higher ground, well, that damn right infuriated her. 

First, it was in Quidditch, Lucius sodding Malfoy had gifted the entire Slytherin team brand new Nimbus 2001 brooms. Then it was top of the range cauldrons, expensive crystal vials and silver scales in their fifth year to ensure an even higher mark for their potions O.W.L examinations. It was pure luck that Ginny had spotted the colourful Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes envelope clutched in Malfoy’s hands at breakfast that day, and it was pure assumption that he would have plundered their stocks. However, she couldn’t have imagined that they would be faced with an even greater obstacle that, in Hermione's opinion, shouldn’t have been allowed in the games at all, for the sheer audacity of it, but given his track record, Hermione should have  _ known.  _ That  _ infuriating, shameless, insolent piece of- _

“Oh hello, Hermione.” An airy voice drifted over from her left shoulder but Hermione’s gaze was fixed to their nearing destination beyond the ruin walls.

“Hi, Luna.”

“I’ve never been too fond of heights before, silly really given that I live in a tower, but I must say this is rather enjoyable.” 

Hermione turned her eyes skyward for a brief moment, taking another deep breath before looking over at her friend. Luna sat with her legs crossed, fanning her arms out at either side and letting the wind guide them where they please. She had a knack for making barmy situations seem relatively normal, or as normal as one could look with a brass spindly contraption stuck to one's head. 

One of the mechanical looking arms placed a set of monocles over Luna’s right eye, then left. Pale irises doubled in size each time as she gave Hermione an uncomfortably long assessment. Hermione wondered just how invasive those glasses were, she thought back to Alastor Moody’s magical eye and shuddered, fighting the urge to cover herself. 

“It’s quite pretty, isn’t it? Although the colour suggests you most likely don’t agree.” Luna finally pondered, smiling wistfully. 

Hermione was too focused on Luna’s unnatural elation to make sense of her words. How could she be this smiley when it was as clear as Malfoy’s pristine crystal vials that Hermione was  _ anything _ but happy. “I’m sorry?” 

“The mood paint.” Luna clarified as if it should be obvious. 

“Oh,  _ this.” _ Hermione gritted her teeth and scowled at her now coral-hued skin, shimmering in the artificial sunlight. “In  _ any other _ circumstances I suppose- wait,  _ mood _ paint?” She didn’t even register their swift plummet to the ruins courtyard where Ginny was waiting, mouth agape when she spotted Hermione. 

“Oh yes, I’ve been meaning to get myself some for  aurōrae , it’s a festival of colour in the Wizarding district of northern Iceland. Artists come from all across the world to do live painting and other performances, all under the northern lights! I heard Omnia will be attending this year, I’ve always loved their music-”

“Luna.” Hermione cut off the girls rambling before she lost sight of the original conversation. “You mean to tell me, that Malfoy has turned me into a walking mood reader?” This couldn’t be happening. He’d done it again. The arsehole had done it  _ again! _ As if her shouting every indecent thought she had at him hadn’t been mortifying enough, now her own skin would betray her.

“I wouldn’t worry too much.“ Luna landed more gracefully than Hermione in the blue quarter and walked towards the boundary lines that separated the two houses. “They would only know the meaning of the colours if they studied the chart like myself, most people will just assume some moods and guess the rest.” That didn’t fill Hermione with much hope, this was Malfoy, he had  _ definitely _ read the colour chart. “I hope Fred and George restock, no wonder they were sold out when I went shopping this morning. I’ll have to mail order now.” Luna sighed.

_ Strike two for those bloody twins when I find them. _ “How long does it last? Merlin save me, HOW DO I  _ GET IT OFF?” _ Hermione knew she was becoming hysterical and Luna didn’t deserve the barrage of emotions flung her way, but the sight of pale yellow and lime green swirling through the coral only caused her worry to increase tenfold. “Oh my god. I look like Mr Blobby.” Ginny jumped as Hermione wailed, recovering quickly as she pulled her in for a bone-crushing hug. 

Luna cocked her head to one side, swapping the monocles for a relatively ordinary pair of spectacles. “I don’t think you look like a man at all, but that’s probably the paint talking. You’re only meant to use it in moderation, too much exposure and the paint will heighten any mood you’re currently experiencing.” Luna shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t think he read the fine print.”

“Oh he read it all right,” Ginny muttered, breaking away from Hermione to assess the paint properly. “Although, I’m guessing he meant for this amount to be used on a large group.”

“Most likely,” Luna agreed. Ginny gave Hermione a look that promised revenge.

“He’s still an arsehole.” 

“If we’re talking about a Slytherin, I fucking concur.” Came a peeved voice as Cale dropped into their circle of shame from above. Hermione bit her lip, but Ginny snorted with laughter.

“Why did I have to miss all the fun!” She moaned.

“Don’t worry, there’s still  _ plenty _ where this came from.” Cale griped. It appeared he had come into contact with one of Mr and Mr Weasley's self-propelling custard pies, scraping a dollop of thick pale yellow cream from his eyes which only slopped onto his already covered T-shirt. When he locked onto Hermione and noticed her more colourful coating, he lost it. 

“You’re hardly in a position to laugh, Anderson.” Hermione bit out, turning a delightful mix of orange with magenta patches.

Cale raised a cream coated eyebrow. “Anderson is it? Have we grown so far apart in the last half hour?” Hermione chose not to dignify him with an answer whilst he was still holding her gaze with mocking eyes. “Well, this needs to be rectified immediately.” Cale moved, quick as an asp. 

“No no no, you  _ dare _ -” Hermione screamed as she lunged to the side but wasn’t quick enough to stop his arms circling her. She was airborne in a second, leaning as far from his cream covered face and clothing as one could without becoming an unexpected contortionist. He shook his head violently splattering her skin and shirt with globs of cold custard. One hand moved to her ribs where he unleashed a new torment that had Hermione screeching his name through aching gasps. Then, and only then, did he release her.

“You… Bastard.” She clutched her side, out of breath and covered in dairy, but when she caught Cale’s grin she laughed, then turned a vivid violet that made her bounce happily on the tips of her toes. 

Cale’s eyes sparked, onlookers were baffled but laughing all the same. Hermione didn’t care, this felt  _ amazing.  _ “Well, that’s different. If only I had that effect on all women.” 

Hermione couldn’t stop, she had to clutch Cale’s shoulder for support and her laugh turned to a maniacal screech. 

“Aaaaand I take it back. This is terrifying, make her stop.” Cale pleaded to Ginny who looked just as helplessly to Luna. 

“It takes a few hours for the effects to wear off, the best thing is to try and keep her calm.” She supplied, fiddling with one pair of glasses to look at the sky. One of the spindly arms was now whirring frantically. “Oh, that could be interesting.” Luna waltzed off to inspect whatever the sky held that no one else could see.

“Brilliant.” Muttered Ginny, grabbing her medallion that had started heating. Hermione was far too preoccupied to look at hers. “Shit. Dean’s been caught.”

That sobered Hermione instantly. She had hoped she gave him enough time and distraction to have gotten far enough from the Slytherins, and if he had been caught, so had their flag. Dean looked crestfallen as he was dumped on the ground beside them all, not even bothering to stand up. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his head. “I was so close, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t,” Hermione said perhaps a smidge too forcefully, but Dean thankfully didn’t seem to register. “None of us could have escaped that, least of all carrying a flag.”

“You should see it, the Slytherins just unleashed a chaos grenade out there.” He continued.

“Grenade?” Ginny asked hesitantly.

“It’s a muggle explosive. Highly impactive.” At Ginny’s horrified gasp he reassured it was just a figure of speech. Although they could hear spells and blasts flying off the ruined castle walls followed by echoed shouts of both dismay and triumph. One particular shriek came from right behind them, and Hermione turned to see a Ravenclaw seventh year stumble over her own feet that seemed to be glued to the floor, only seconds away from freeing her housemates. They all cried in outrage but no one could pinpoint the direction of her attacker. Not until a swift jet black ball flew past, bouncing once at the opposite side of the courtyard, exploding into a colossal stygian spider before a Slytherin boy who had until now, remained hidden beyond one of the courtyard pillars. When the spider leapt upon him, black tendrils wrapped around his screaming form until he lay jostling on the floor, encased from head to toe in a sticky, compact web.  _ No wonder Ron had shit himself. _

Alex swaggered over to their group, a vengeful smirk plastered on her face. “Prick,” she called to him when a House Elf cut open the web and he landed heavily in the emerald quarter of the courtyard. She took great pleasure in his anger as she grabbed Ginny’s hand and pulled her out of the quarter. Ginny turned to do the same and one by one they were free to seek their revenge.

Hours may have passed since their break out from the courtyard, Hermione couldn’t be sure. A couple of hurdles had been thrown at them in various sections of the arena. A dense creeping fog which seemed to amplify the smallest of sounds, their quickened steps through the forest quickly became boisterous, crunching echoes bouncing from pine to pine. Stealth was their only option. An achingly painful pace, even their grapple ropes creaked heavily through the tree canopy. This was followed by an intense bluster of icy shards, snow was too soft a word for this new torment. It lashed from frosted, jagged clouds lingering dangerously low before the Hufflepuff base entrance, whipping towards each player like a glacial lasso. They were left to take a gamble, battle the elements and the other houses at their backs trying to get one of the two remaining flags, or head to the entrance that the Hufflepuff’s had taken full advantage from the storm and heavily fortified. 

Well, after her third trip to the centre of the arena, Hermione was sure of one thing. She was  _ sick _ of running. 

For every Gryffindor they retrieved from the free zone, another one or two were sent in their place, and each time they made way back into the forest, a new obstacle awaited, turning the days' event into an extremely irritating game of housemate relay. But more worryingly, for every visit, there were no signs of Slytherins having been captured.  _ Not a single one. _ A cold dread settled over her already frost ravaged bones, so after Eilidh came to Hermione’s latest rescue, the two of them headed straight north, back to their own base. 

Her fears were justified as soon as they hit the open woods, clearly, the other houses were under the assumption that the Gryffindor canyon would be the easier base to infiltrate, but they were about to find out just how wrong they were. Hermione grabbed Eilidh's hand as three Hufflepuff’s emerged from the treeline to her right. Hermione weaved between the trunks and at Eilidh’s questioning glance at the rather indirect route to the canyon, Hermione nodded to a selection of oaks, the centre two engraved with an X. The three yellow-clad students who had followed their direct path, thinking Hermione and Eilidh were  _ avoiding _ the forest traps, now had a clear shot of their backs. Hermione heard a faint curse from the Eilidh before she conjured a silent  _ Ascendio.  _ They launched upwards, narrowly avoiding a jet of blue light. That was the only spell to come their way for not a second later, the satisfying sound of yips, grunts and shrieks filled the air as Hermione hit the ground. She took a moment to marvel and the trespasser trap and their outraged cries before pushing forward, Eilidh’s laughter ringing out beside her. 

Their laughter stopped the moment a dung bomb nearly skimmed the top of Eilidh's nose, crashing into a nearby tree in a plume of putrid brown smoke. Hermione was shoved aside with a force far greater than she expected of the petit witch as another bomb sailed through the clearing, this time exploding on the ground further away. Hermione had a second to catch a glimpse of green before picking herself up and barreling after Eilidh who was retching over the fumes that had unfortunately hit too close to her. They dived into one of the canyons passageways and Hermione was grateful she was with the baser, as Eilidh knew these paths like the back of her hand. They bolted left, hearing a set of heavy footfalls on their tail which soon echoed around the walls. The distortion of sound made it hard to predict how many Slytherins had entered the base after them but Hermione knew at least two had made it in. 

“Powder,” Eilidh whispered order took a second to compute as they stopped next to a path Hermione recognised, where she had last seen Daniel before the game started. She reached into her bum bag, pulling out a small drawstring pouch and grasped a light handful of glistening onyx powder, they paused mid-way down the path, steadying their heavy breaths. As soon as the sounds of footfalls neared the passage, Hermione launched the substance in their direction and everything that surrounded them fell to darkness. 

A cacophony of curses rang out as the runners took the adjacent, clear path instead, Hermione heard a rageful scream and one by one the sounds of running ceased. 

There was no speck of light or colour left, just a dark so vast and encompassing, darker than the most obsidian of moonless nights. She felt along the rock wall, eyes widening in hopes of seeing  _ something _ as she neared where the Slytherins had run. It terrified Hermione that she would be forever trapped within the depths of this inky vision. The rational part of Hermione’s brain knew the darkness powder gave only temporary blindness, but due to her heightened emotions from the damn mood paint, she couldn’t fight the sheer terror at that moment. 

Hermione sank to her knees, fighting the bile ascending her throat. She dragged in harried breaths to clear it away, reaching out for Eilidh’s hand but instead ended up clinging to the poor girl's leg as tendrils of dark smoke started parting ways. Hermione focused on the glittery specks floating past the maroon wall, blinking furiously. 

“Hermione, are you all right?” Eilidh unclasped Hermione's grip on her leg and helped her to her feet.

It took her a few seconds to draw in enough breath to bite out, “I… I’m fine. Malfoy, however… won’t be. I’m… going to… fucking murder him.” Eilidh’s lips twitched, her expression turning from worry to amusement. 

“Forgive me,” she laughed, “It’s not every day I hear you swear. I’m guessing Malfoy is to blame for your, um-” Eilidh bit her lip in hesitance. “-vibrant appearance?”

Hermione snorted indelicately, that was one way of putting it. Her skin after that ordeal had turned an icy blue with black splotches across her fingertips and arms, which she was sure, although the shimmer was pretty, It most likely made her look rather sickly. Hermione recanted the story of her last run-in with the Slytherin as they turned the corner of the passage to witness Tracy Davis, Daphne Greengrass and a seventh year Slytherin boy frozen in place down the next path. Daphne’s mouth was agape, frozen like the rest of their limbs. She must have been the screamer. 

“Woah. Ok, that’s a  _ seriously _ cool trick.” The disgruntled noise that tried to come out of the boy's mouth and the narrowing eyes of the girls showed they didn’t find this ‘cool’ in the slightest. “Aw, don’t get upset now, you should know better than to throw dung bombs at people.” Eilidh tsked at hateful faces. 

Hermione had only witnessed this particular ‘trick’ happen twice before- when she tested it herself in an empty room of an abandoned corridor in the castle one evening and watched Daniel do the same, under each others supervision- but it still took her breath away at what they had invented. 

It was the result of nearly a years worth of gruelling studying of ancient runes, and many frustrating hours of failed attempts at freezing random objects thrown over the threshold of runes carved into the walls or the floors of the vacant classroom. They had started to wonder if they had given themselves an impossible project to accomplish to submit for their practical examination, but one early Sunday morning, the seemingly impossible turned to possible but  _ highly inadvisable  _ as- to Hermione’s horror- the spoon she threw over the runes shattered into smithereens. 

It took another few weeks of adjustments and little sleep for the two of them to get rid of the potentially problematic issue that was the explosive side effect. They had to bring in Professor Babbling to examine their detailed notes and view their demonstrations using various objects before she allowed and supervised their attempt as throwing themselves into their invention. Hermione was still gleeful over her Professor’s ecstatic response, but she had to sympathise with the three Slytherins. It was  _ not _ the most comfortable experience. 

A faint  _ pop _ sounded next to them and the House-elf tasked with this part of the base merely blinked once, twice, then blinked again. Casting an astonished look their way the Elf moved forward to examine the magic. It took a few seconds for the spell to be reversed but Hermione swore she could see the excitement in the Elf’s eyes at the challenge it had presented. 

“Ok, so let me get this straight,” Eilidh said as the girls made their way to the centre of the base where they found Neville, Daniel, Fay, Mila, Parvati and Will chatting animatedly. “Because Malfoy covered you in an insane amount of paint that seems to have absorbed into your very  _ being _ , all of your moods, feelings  _ and  _ reactions, are double the intensity?”

“Yep.” Hermione gave extra emphasis on the P. The novelty of this sodding paint was wearing extremely thin now. After many attempts to cancel the magic within the paint to no avail, they had tried to wash it off with Aguamenti, even rubbing snow from the storm then scraping with her fingernails, and sure enough, nothing happened. It was here to stay. 

“So, if someone was to make you laugh-”

“Yes, It’s confirmed I sound like a dying hyena.” Hermione finished flatly. 

Will whistled at the sight of Hermione, having caught wind of their conversation. “He really did you dirty, didn’t he?” Hermione crossed her amber speckled arms, levelling a frustrated glare to which he added quickly, “It’s really pretty though.”

“ _ Real _ pretty,” Daniel parroted. 

“I mean, you know… It could be worse.” Will finished, giving Hermione’s rapid colour changes a wary once over.  Yes, Hermione thought. Because looking  _ pretty _ was really going to help her deal with this situation. 

Neville snorted. “Nice save, mate.” He turned to Hermione, “how many people got frozen just now? Nice work on that, by the way.” 

“We heard the screams,” Dan supplied, his eyes lighting up. “ _ Please _ tell me they were Slytherins?” 

That brought Hermione out of her emotional funk and she offered them a grin. “Three of them, and It was glorious.”

“They’re annihilating us out there,” Eilidh grumbled. “You should have seen how many Ravenclaws were captured. Our Weasley products are limited, we need another way of stopping them before there are no players left for them to fight against.”

“They’re going to completely take out the other houses, and every scout we’ve sent into the Slytherin caves has been caught,” Parvati muttered, sounding defeated. This alarmed Hermione. She hoped the Gryffindors out in the field weren’t feeling the same or they were utterly screwed. 

“We can’t get a detailed enough map of the place to even guess where the flags are,” Mila added.

“And if they get the Hufflepuff flag It’s game over.” Fay finished.

“It’s a pity we can’t just summon them.” Neville sighed. “I know McGonagall would never allow magic that basic to affect the game, but it would really help us right now.”

Neville’s words snapped Hermione from her panicked reverie, reminding her of the odd conversation she had with Fred and George this morning. 

‘ _ We know you’re meant to be showing off your fancy spells and all that jazz but… don’t forget the basics.’  _

_ ‘Yep… Charms are your friends…’ _

“GENIUS!” Hermione exclaimed, grabbing hold of Neville’s shirt. She planted a kiss on his cheek and squealed in delight. “Neville, you’re _ brilliant!” _

“I-I am? You did hear what I said, right?”

“The hats!” Hermione bounced up and down. Poor Neville’s eyes looked like they were about to bug out of his head as he tried steadying her hands in case she ripped his shirt. “Remember your  _ basic  _ charms!” She relayed Fred and George’s exact words from this morning to the group as none of them had accompanied her this morning and was watching her as if she’d completely lost her marbles. “They aren’t a full set without the cloak and gloves!  _ Can they be summoned?”  _

“Only one way to find out,” Neville beamed at the group with hopeful eyes. “We need to beat Slytherin to Hufflepuff base before it’s too late, Roland and Owen were there last they checked in, Ginny and Alex not far behind. Dean and Cale are attempting another scout of the caves so we’ll need someone close to the courtyard in case. Will, can you send word, have them test the plan?”

Will nodded, frantically grabbing his medallion. “I’m coming with you both,” Fay announced. “I want to be there to see this.” Hermione didn’t like the thought of leaving their base at a time like this, but if her hunch was correct, this could potentially turn the tables of the game. They had to go all or nothing. 

Dan gently touched Hermine’s arm as though unsure if he would spook her. “Before you go, I want to run an idea by you.” He hurried Hermione over to the entrance of one of the dead-end paths and spewed the most insane idea she had ever heard him come up with.

“Dan, you would need to be  _ in _ there for it to work, and as soon as it touches the runes you’ll be stuck!”

“Ah, well, I hadn’t thought of that last bit, good job I waited for you.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “but I  _ had  _ planned to climb, with help, to the top and do the work from there. I’ll just make  _ an extra  _ effort not to fall in now.” 

“You’re bonkers.”

“That’s really not reassuring coming from the girl who climbed a seventy-foot obstacle tower,  _ for fun. _ ”

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, or a bad idea but…  _ bonkers.” _

He grinned devilishly. “Imagine the destruction though, Hermione.”

“ _ I am _ , and it’s the only reason I’m not immediately saying no.” Damn him, it was genius. “I’ll stay and help.”

“No, they need as much help out there as possible.”

“Then I’ll stay and you go, you’ve already done so much here, I’m not having you risk yourself for this.”

“If you weren’t so doped up on paint fumes I would be genuinely flattered at your concern, but you should know from our classes, I panic shoot, which makes me more of a danger out there. I’d probably end up stunning someone on a knee jerk reaction and disqualify the lot of us. I’m staying, I just need your eyes and brain to make this work.

“What If you fall in?”

“I’ve seen a few House-elves lurking around keeping an eye over things. They will help, as well as Mila, Eilidh, Will, Parvati, and Lara should be back soon after moving some traps, got to keep them all on their toes if they think we’re the safe base.”

“Fine.” Hermione finally conceded although waved a pointed finger in warning. “But If you need me-”

“I will summon thee, My Lady.” Dan chuckled, raising his hands.

After covering all the issues Hermione could think of, Dan hurried her back to the others before she could change her mind. Hermione looked at the rest of the group staying behind. “Make sure he doesn’t die, please?” 

They all gave their reassurances and Dan rolled his eyes, shooing at Hermione, Neville and Fay. “Off with you all. Go give the Slytherins some seriously atrocious hat hair from me.” 

* * *

_ It fucking works! -G _

Hermione’s heart raced. She had never seen such a glorious curse in her life and Neville gave a silent cheer as they tore through the forest with vengeful purpose. A few times Hermione had become so lost in her excitement that Neville had to grab her before she ran into Lara’s newly positioned traps. 

Students were starting to become bolder and more creative with their attacks, most likely due to the fact that Slytherin had, up until now, been near impossible to nullify. Hermione caught sight of one student who had transfigured himself a pair of giant Eagle wings and attempted flight, only they were far too disproportionate to remain airborne, so he had plummeted down, knocking into a seventh year Slytherin who lost her hat and was swiftly replaced with a blindfold. Hermione wasn’t sure if that was to stop the girl from witnessing his struggle with the enormous wings but he still seemed triumphant nonetheless.  **  
**

_ Following snake trio. Heading to the castle, targeting Claws -A _

They didn’t even need to deliberate detouring from their original plan, the three of them, as one unit, pivoted mid-run and headed towards the centre of the arena. If they could get the infamous trio out of the running, even for a few minutes to scare them with the knowledge they were no longer invincible, it would be worth it.

Hermione had to dive behind a fallen oak, narrowly missing an  _ Incarcerous  _ which, with a strong blast of wind from Neville, flew right over their heads and straight for a Hufflepuff boy in the distance, which unfortunately for them, resulted in friendly fire.

Thankfully, the north side of the castle held no ambushers as they clambered through a moss-covered window ledge, entering a deserted corridor. Faint murmurs of activity sounded from the east which they followed quickly. As they drew closer, spellfire echoed down the passage to their left. Hermione padded to the end of the corridor and peered warily around the corner. Blue and gold sparks bounced off the walls ahead and Hermione strengthened her  _ Protego, _ lest she gets picked off before she has a chance to enact her revenge.

Thick plumes of cinereal fog swirled around a small rectangular courtyard, billowing over the low stone walls and pillars of the ruin, making it tricky to see across the other side. Hermione edged carefully to the low wall where the fog had thinned out to gage the Slytherins whereabouts and bumped into a hard lump that jerked wildly at her intrusion. A hand reached out from below, yanking Hermione to the ground where she landed less than gracefully on her backside. It turned out the lump had been not one, but two bodies, and as the fog started to dissipate, Hermione reeled back, terror coursing through her veins when she noticed the bodies did not have heads. 

Painfully firm fingers clamped around Hermione’s frosty blue wand hand which she had raised on instinct. Hermione watched as one of their arms raised up to grasp the foggy air where one would normally find a head, and a split second later, Ginny’s face was grinning down at her, holding a finger to her lips. Hermione allowed her heart a second to catch up and noticed the headless hat clutched in Ginny’s hand. The hand that apparently belonged to Alex released her grip on Hermione’s wrist, waving over Neville and Fay, still without a head to peek over the wall. Hermione shuddered. She had to give the twins credit, they sure knew how to make the creepiest products.

The fog in the courtyard had thinned enough to be able to make sense of their surroundings. There were no other passages out except the ones at their backs, which meant the Slytherins would have to come out of hiding behind the wall on the far side of the courtyard to leave. 

“We need something to lure them out,” Hermione whispered. Perhaps they should all run around the corner headless and scare the shit out of them.  _ That _ would stun them long enough to get the bloody hats.

Alex pulled out a web from her bag and prepared to launch it across the way. “Are you mad?” Ginny hissed, “it could bounce back and hit any of us!” Alex looked mildly put out but acquiesced to her logic.

A memory of their second year duelling class suddenly came to mind and Hermione thought that karma was indeed a delightful thing. “Neville, can you keep an eye on our backs? I’m hoping this is about to get loud.” He narrowed his eyes in amusement and nodded, remaining where he could see the corridor they had entered from. 

Hermione motioned for the group to split, Alex and Ginny removed their hats and took the left corner of the courtyard whilst Hermione and Fay took the right. They watched curiously as Hermione peered around the wall, the way was clear so she pointed her wand at the far corner and whispered,  _ “Serpentsortia.” _

Fay scooted back, slapping a hand over her mouth as a long muddy green serpent burst from the tip of her wand and landed with a  _ hiss _ . It raised a scaled head, yellow beady eyes zoning in on the boys and slid silently around the corner. 

There were a few seconds of deafening silence, except for the shaky breaths from herself and Fay. A satisfyingly loud shriek pierced the air, followed by roaring curses. When the first Slytherin bolted up and ran into the grassy centre of the courtyard, the loudest screamer of all, Fay was on him in a second. Theo’s hat flew from his head and into the Witch’s waiting palm. His shock enabled both Hermione and Fay to get a jinx at him before he had time to speak.

_ “Melefors!” _

_ “Tarantallegra!” _

At that moment, Hermione was seriously considering purchasing her very own pensieve. She didn’t care that her Gringotts account was practically empty, she would sell her own kidney to relive the glorious memory of Theodore Nott jiving and grinding around the courtyard to imaginary music, with his head encased in an oversized pumpkin. It wasn’t quite the cancan Fay had envisioned,  _ it was even better. _ The girls couldn’t breathe.

“Fuck!” Theo’s curse was muffled from the pumpkin which made Hermione laugh even harder, Fay was clutching her side as she knelt on the ground. Even the House-elf took a moment to watch before snapping their fingers and whisking the infuriated Slytherin away.

A head popped up with a squeal as one of the Slytherins jumped away from the snake, Alex had his hat summoned in a split second whilst Ginny crept around the far corner.

“They can be _ summoned?”  _ Blaise hissed to Malfoy. 

_ “Vipera Evanesca!”  _ Hermione heard Malfoy’s spell hit the snake, a small wisp of smoke visible from the corner closest to her as the serpent- and their only distraction- was vanished. Ginny, however, had gotten close enough to throw a  _ Cantis _ at Blaise before bolting back to where Alex waited, throwing shield charms around them just in time to block Malfoy’s attack. 

“Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame, you give love a bad name.” Blaise stood up across from them, hands on his hips and face deadpan as he burst into song. Hermione wasn’t the only one who was surprised to find he had quite a beautiful voice. Ginny raised an eyebrow, her mouth opened then swiftly closed on its taunt. “I play my part and you play your game, you give looooooooove, a bad name.”

Even Malfoy had paused his assaults at this musical masterpiece. Blaise shrugged to his friend as if he shouldn’t be so shocked he had talent, but when his gaze turned to Ginny he laughed through the song. The Witch eyes had glazed over, unabashedly gawking, and if Hermione didn’t know any better she would think her friend’s ovaries had just exploded. She was snapped out of her reverie when the next Elf popped up and Blaise was hoisted up and away. **  
**

“It’s gonna take a lot to drag me awaaaaaay from youuuuu, there’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do.” Blaise continued. Alex snorted a laugh but was soon taking on more attacks from Malfoy. Hermione crept on all fours to the corner closest to him, too busy engaging Ginny and Alex to notice her stalking. Neville and Fay had joined in and Hermione had to be careful not to get hit by friendly fire, even though her shields were strengthened, but it mattered little when Malfoy let out a frustrated grunt and jumped to his feet. Spells flew off his shield hat but he had provided his own shield charms to give himself a further advantage. 

He pointed his wand straight at the group and Hermione was already moving.  _ “Aqua Er-”  _ she did the only thing she could think of in that second, she grabbed a web from her bag and launched herself  _ onto _ Malfoy before he could finish the spell that would have wiped them all out with a strong jet of water. Hermione released the ball just as Malfoy turned wide-eyed and  _ caught _ her before she crushed into his chest, their surroundings vanishing through the thick membranes of the web. They rolled together, suspended in the air as the spider finished its wrapping and all but a few small holes of light remained.

People were shouting, calling her name but Hermione could only focus on the set of eyes that pierced her own. She was mortified to realise that she had cocooned her arms and legs around him, Malfoy’s left arm was wrapped snugly around her waist, and she gasped when she found his right hand planted firmly to her arse. Hermione tried to wriggle free but the web gave little room to manoeuvre. 

Malfoy chuckled at her. “You’re only making this worse. Well, for you anyway…” 

“Malfoy... “ Hermione warned.

“What? Honestly, Granger, if you’re going to throw yourself at a guy like that, you can’t seriously expect him to keep his hands to himself.”

“You left me little choice.”

“Well, I could say the same. Besides, what did you expect me to do, throw you off?”

“Well… yes. That’s  _ exactly _ what I expected you to do.”

“But is that what you wanted me to do?”

Hermione fell silent, refusing to answer as the pair of them went weightless, a feeling she was starting to get used to by now. Her arms were wedged around Malfoy’s neck and she fidgeted, not knowing where to look so she settled on the strands of the web to the side of his face. “I’m not sorry for trapping you.” She said testily.

“I see that.” Malfoy grinned, studying the way her skin turned a horrifying mix of magenta and plum. Hermione obviously had no chart to consult but she had a  _ pretty  _ good guess what he saw written across her skin. “I guess this makes us even.”

_ “Even?  _ Thanks to you, I’m lit up like a bloody mood beacon!” 

“I know, it’s brilliant-”

_ “Not to mention, _ ” Hermione continued. Embarrassment and rage warring with each other, “this is the  _ second _ time you’ve sent me to prison-”

“Technically, you sent yourself-”

_ “Semantics!”  _ Hermione groaned and shielded her face the only way she could; resting on his shoulder, which bobbed up and down as the bastard continued to laugh. “I’m glad my embarrassment is so fucking amusing to you.” 

“Oh, that’s not just embarrassment I’m seeing.” Hermione wanted to punch him. Hard. Judging by the way her skin darkened, he could see the anger too. “Hey,” Malfoy nudged her head with his shoulder so she would look at him. His eyes studied hers, the humour in his own turning almost vulnerable. “I wanted to be sure it wasn’t just the potion talking before, I didn’t want to misjudge and end up being decked in the face again.” 

Hermione took a few shaky breaths. She couldn’t believe this had been purely for her benefit, he was too much of an arse for that. Malfoy’s breaths were warm against her cheek, assessing the golden tones shimmering at the surface of her skin, waiting. “What makes you think I’m not going to do it again?” Hermione cursed herself as her voice lost some of her earlier ire.

Malfoy gave her that knee-weakening, devilish grin, before the arm he had around her waist moved to cup the back of her neck. Her breath hitched as he took one last quick assessment of her colouring and brought her lips to his.

Hermione bit back a moan. It wasn’t the explosive, demanding kiss she had expected from him. It was gentle, exploring, slow almost to the point of torture, but one that Hermione would take time and time again. 

She trailed her fingers under Malfoy’s hat and ran her hands through his hair, eliciting a deep groan that sent heat straight to her core as he deepened the kiss. Hermione breathed in the scent and taste of him, shivering as his fingers drew delicious patterns from her scalp down to the nape of her neck, goosebumps marking her skin. 

They broke away as a giant rip ran down the side of the web. So caught up in Malfoy’s lips, Hermione hadn’t realised they had stopped floating. Light tore through the web, violating their heady sanctuary. Malfoy winked and she gasped as he gave her arse a firm squeeze just before the web was torn off completely and they fell gently into their designated quarters. 

Hermione was stunned to hear applause and congratulations as she landed in the courtyard. “Finally got the bastards!” Anthony Goldstein cheered to her right. 

Dean, who had already been caught before she arrived, clapped her on the shoulder, offering a wide grin. “I’m not happy you’re here with me, but I’m happy you dragged them with you.”

Theo however, was not. A muscle feathered in his jaw at Hermione’s welcome and he walked up to the boundary line between Slytherin and Gryffindor. “Coming after us, Granger was a huge mistake.” His eyes promised brutal revenge, probably still reeling from his own embarrassment, Hermione would feel bad, but she didn’t. 

“Your mistake, Theo, was not realising that,” she grinned, pointing her wand to her throat and casting a silent  _ Sonorous _ , “shield hats can be summoned.” 

“Shit,” Blaise cursed as Hermione’s voice carried far over the courtyard and the castle beyond. Gasps and murmurs of surprise rang through the students in the arena prison, and faint hollars of  _ Accio  _ and celebrations could be heard in the distance. 

Malfoy shook his head and looked to the sky, she’d really messed up his plans but, once again, she found it hard to be apologetic. When he looked back to Hermione, her cheeks burned at his wandering gaze. There, he held a promise of a different kind, and Hermione found herself quite looking forward to it. But when the entire arena plummeted into darkness, Hermione felt her high spirits dwindle.

They had been plunged into night time as quickly as a blanket snuffs out a candle. The only light that remained was cast from the false moon above… and Hermione’s now luminous skin.

“Oh,  _ come on!”  _ Hermione growled, watching the pink and gold hues dissolve under a bombardment of orange. She looked like she had been shoved under a UV lamp and doused in radioactive powder. That had brought Theo out of his strop as he snorted with laughter at her appearance,  _ again. _

“Would love to stay and watch,” Theo gloated as Harper, a seventh-year Slytherin jumped out into the courtyard, “but we have a game to win.” Malfoy turned to observe the Ravenclaws, eyes narrowed as Theo and Blaise were freed. Hermione noted the amount of Ravenclaws in the free zone, Malfoy had counted before he grinned at Hermione and followed his housemates.

Horror filled Hermione when she did the same, especially when Sue Li floated over the ruins and into the blue quarter. “You counted correctly,” Eire confirmed her fear defeatedly.  _ Oh this is bad. _ **  
**

Hermione kept her expression neutral, she got the feeling Eire wouldn’t appreciate pity. “Who’s left?”

“Luna is the last.” Sue Li answered as she dusted off her trousers. 

“Of all the people,” a seventh-year Witch snorted. “The girl who’s got a fucking pilon on her head, real inconspicuous.” 

“Cut her some slack, Tori.” Eire reprimanded. “She made it further than you did.” The girl shot Eire a reproachful look but sensibly kept her thoughts to herself. 

“I saw her by the lake just before they caught me.” Sue continued bitterly. “They ignored the two Hufflepuffs who were closer and came after me. They want us out, she won’t be far behind, especially if those three find her.”

Ginny bounded through the gap in the castle wall swiftly followed by Alex, who looked a little frenzied and was perhaps enjoying their small victory a little too much. Ginny grasped Hermione’s hand and pulled her over the line, but she turned to the Ravenclaws as Ginny broke Dean out. They couldn’t have an entire house out of the game, that meant Slytherin had an even greater chance of getting the Hufflepuff flag if they hadn’t already. The only small comfort was that Owen and Roland hadn’t been caught yet, two Gryffindors over there were better than none. 

“Give them hell from us, will you?” Sue asked.

“No.” Eire narrowed her eyes at Hermione. This might be a barmy idea but she was starting to think that this game relied on barmy solutions. So Hermione walked to the edge of the blue quarter and reached her hand over the line carefully, in case it is charmed to not allow her. “We give them hell together.” 

“Say again?” The girl looked as shocked as the rest of them sounded. Ginny looked speechless, which says a lot. Hermione pleaded silently with the Gryffindors to hear her out, and they motioned for her to continue.

“You help us swarm the caves, and if we are successful, you get your flag back and we’ll take Slytherins. Once we’re back on our own bases, the truce ends and you’re very much back in the game.”

“How do we know you won’t just steal ours once we’ve helped you.” Tori sneered. 

“You don’t. But I don’t particularly fancy busting my arse again fighting this one,” Hermione motioned to Eire, “to get your flag back." 

“Even if that plan did work, we’d still only have  _ our  _ flag which means we’re in the same position as we are now, fighting to gain two.”

“But we’d be in the game!” Terry piped up. “Not sitting on our arses hoping Luna doesn’t get caught. Don’t you want to get them back for what they did?”

Nods and agreements surrounded the Ravenclaws and Eire turned to grasp Hermione’s hand as the familiar whirring and clicking of Luna’s headpiece floated over the wall. Hermione pulled her out over the boundary line just before Luna was dropped in. She turned to the group with wide eyes.

“Guys, you won’t believe what I just found." ****  
  



End file.
